President Donald Trump said his administration was talking with China on trade, even after Beijing denied the existence of negotiations on a deal and demanded the United States revoke all unilateral tariffs.

“They had a meeting this morning,” Trump said Thursday during a meeting with Norway’s prime minister when a reporter asked about the Chinese statement.

Pressed on which administration officials were involved in discussions, the U.S. president said “it doesn’t matter who ‘they’ is. We may reveal it later, but they had meetings this morning, and we’ve been meeting with China.”

The exchange exposed the ongoing disconnect between Washington and Beijing, as President Xi Jinping’s government maintains a defiant stance despite Trump’s recent suggestion he could lower tariffs on China.

Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesman He Yadong earlier Thursday at a regular briefing in Beijing dismissed speculation that progress has been made in bilateral communications, saying “any reports on development in talks are groundless,” and urging the U.S. to “show sincerity” if it wants to make a deal.

“The U.S. should respond to rational voices in the international community and within its own borders and thoroughly remove all unilateral tariffs imposed on China, if it really wants to solve the problem,” he said.

Guo Jiakun, a spokesman for China’s Foreign Ministry, said Thursday, “For all I know, China and the U.S. are not having any consultation or negotiation on tariffs, still less reaching a deal.”

The remarks suggest that Trump’s comments this week signaling that he could lower tariffs on China — which currently stand at 145% for most goods — will not be enough to de-escalate tensions.

Trump said Wednesday that “everything’s active” when asked if he was engaging with China and that Beijing was “going to do fine” once talks had settled.

Trump has tried to get Xi on the phone a number of times since he returned to office, but the Chinese leader has, so far, resisted. Beijing wants to see a number of steps from Washington before it will agree to trade negotiations, including showing more respect and naming a point person for the dialogue, Bloomberg News previously reported.

Other conditions include a more consistent U.S. position and a willingness to address China’s concerns around American sanctions and Taiwan, the self-ruled island that Beijing has vowed to claim someday, by force if necessary.

Trump shifted his tone yet again on Thursday, criticizing Beijing for refusing to take deliveries of Boeing Co. jets and for its role in the trade of illegal fentanyl. The U.S. imposed 20% tariffs on Chinese imports tied to fentanyl before slapping them with an additional 125% duty.

“Boeing should default China for not taking the beautifully finished planes that China committed to purchase,” Trump posted on social media. “And, by the way, Fentanyl continues to pour into our Country from China, through Mexico and Canada, killing hundreds of thousands of our people, and it better stop, NOW!”

China has responded to Trump’s volatile tariff moves with caution, with Beijing calling the high levels of levies “meaningless.” Authorities have also warned other countries against striking deals with the U.S. that could hurt its interests.

Highlighting how the strain in trade ties is spilling into other areas of the relationship, China’s Defense Ministry on Thursday blamed the “biased” view of “some individuals in the U.S.” for hindering engagement between the Chinese and U.S. militaries.