President says U.S. and China are talking, China denies it, and no one in the administration seems to know about it

President Donald Trump misjudged Beijing by calculating that it would cave into economic pressure, leaving the US unprepared to handle the current tariff standoff, according to an adviser to China’s Foreign Ministry.

Beijing is going on an international charm campaign to coax other countries hit hard by “Liberation Day” tariffs to take on the U.S.