Talks or no talks?; Rare earths; Xi meets Kenyan president; Negative list

I am attending an event early this evening and so today’s newsletter is a bit truncated.

The fog of the US-China trade war thickens. On Thursday in Beijing, both the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said currently there are no ongoing trade talks between China and the United States.

The Ministry of Commerce spokesperson was unequivocal:

I would like to emphasize that currently there are no ongoing economic or trade negotiations between China and the United States. Any claims about progress in U.S.-China economic and trade talks are mere speculation and lack factual basis.

On Thursday in Washington, President Trump said there were talks this morning, though he gave no details and I have not been able to find anyone who can confirm there were talks. I hear Ambassador Xie Feng did visit the White House Wednesday evening but made no progress.