By John Geddie, Yoshifumi Takemoto and Trevor Hunnicutt TOKYO/WASHINGTON (Reuters) -When Tokyo's top trade negotiator met U.S. President Donald Trump for tariff talks at the White House earlier this month,

China exempted some U.S. imports from its steep tariffs in a sign on Friday that the trade war between the two countries could be easing, though China quickly knocked down U.S. President Donald Trump's assertion that negotiations were underway.

President Trump said he's spoken with Chinese President Xi Jinping about tariffs, but China says there have been "no negotiations" with the U.S. on trade or the economy.