China has called on the US to cancel its sweeping tariffs on Chinese goods entering the country as a sign that the President Donald Trump is serious about resolving the trade war between the two countries.

A Chinese official said there had been no trade talks with the US, despite suggestions otherwise from the Trump administration.

The trade war between the world's two largest economies has been escalating, with China sending back Boeing planes it ordered from the US in its latest retaliation over tariffs.

But Trump has appeared to soften his stance on China, saying that the taxes he has so far imposed on Chinese imports would "come down substantially, but it won't be zero".

A trade war between China and the US is in full swing, with Trump imposing import taxes of up to 145% on Chinese goods coming into the US, and China hitting back with a 125% tax on American products.

In one of China's strongest statements yet over the tariff war, Commerce Ministry spokesman He Yadong said the US should remove all "unilateral tariff measures" against China "if it truly wanted" to solve the issue.

"The person who tied the bell must untie it," he added.

Separately, Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said China and the US had "not conducted consultations or negotiations on tariffs, let alone reached an agreement".

He added that reports to the contrary were "false".

Trump previously said negotiations between the countries were "active" - but this was also contradicted by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who said on Wednesday they had not yet begun.

Bessent added that there was an opportunity for a "big deal" between the US and China on trade.

He has previously said he expected a de-escalation of the "unsustainable" trade war, and said the current situation was "not a joke".

Trump said on Tuesday that he would be "very nice" in negotiations with Beijing in the hope of securing a trade deal.

But following China's latest comments, he said on his Truth Social media platform "Boeing should default China for not taking the beautifully finished planes that China committed to purchase".

"This is just a small example of what China has done to the USA, for years," he added, before repeating accusations that synthetic opioid fentanyl "continues to pour into our country from China, through Mexico and Canada, killing hundreds of thousands of our people".

The boss of plane manufacturer Boeing revealed China had sent back aircraft it had ordered from the US as part of its retaliation to tariffs.

Kelly Ortberg said this week that two planes had already been returned and another would follow due trade tensions between the two countries.

China held a roundtable on Wednesday to address the concerns of more than 80 foreign firms over the impact of US tariffs on their investments and operations in China, the commerce ministry said.

"It is hoped that foreign firms will turn crises into opportunities," said Vice Commerce Minister Ling Ji.

Tesla boss Elon Musk has pledged to "significantly" cut back his role in the US government after the electric car firm reported a huge drop in profit and sales for the start of this year.

Musk has led the newly created advisory body - the Department for Government Efficiency (Doge) - since last year, putting the world's richest man at the heart of cutting US spending and jobs.

But Musk said his "time allocation to Doge" would "drop significantly" from next month, adding he would spend only one to two days per week on it after accusations he has taken his focus off Tesla.

His political involvement has sparked protests and boycotts of Tesla cars around the world.

Temporary government employees, such as Musk, are normally limited to working 130 days a year which, if counted from the day of President Donald Trump's inauguration, is set to expire late next month.

But it is unclear when Musk, who contributed more than a quarter of a billion dollars to Trump's re-election, will step down completely.

Trump said earlier this month he would keep Musk "as long as I could keep him".

The tech boss said he would now "be allocating far more of my time to Tesla", but suggested he would not leave the Trump administration completely, calling the work "critical" and pledging to stay on "as long as the president would like me to do so and as long as it's useful".

On Tuesday, Tesla reported a 20% drop in car sales for the first three months of the year, compared with the same period last year, while profits fell more than 70%.

The company warned investors that the pain could continue, declining to offer a growth forecast while saying "changing political sentiment" could meaningfully hurt demand.

Musk blamed the boycott of Tesla cars on people who would "try to attack me and the Doge team".

Shares in the company had shed about 37% of their value this year as of market close on Tuesday. They rose by more than 5% in after-hours trading following the results.

Trump's tariffs on China also weighed heavily on Tesla. Although the vehicles Tesla sells in its home market are assembled in the US, it depends on many parts made in China. "Rapidly evolving trade policy" could hurt its supply chain and raise costs, according to the company.

"This dynamic, along with changing political sentiment, could have a meaningful impact on demand for our products in the near-term," Tesla's quarterly update said.

Musk has clashed on trade with other Trump administration figures, including trade adviser Peter Navarro.

On Tuesday, Musk said he thought Tesla was the car company least affected by tariffs because of its localised supply chains in North America, Europe and China, but he added that tariffs were "still tough on a company where margins are low".

"I'll continue to advocate for lower tariffs rather than higher tariffs but that's all I can do," he said.

Earlier this month, he called Navarro a "moron" over comments he had made about Tesla. Navarro had said Musk was "not a car manufacturer" but a "car assembler, in many cases".

Georg Ell, who knew Musk and was director for Western Europe at Tesla, told the BBC's Today programme that if the multi-billionaire "focuses on the companies where he is extraordinary, I think people will focus once again on the quality of the product and experiences".

"I think Elon is not someone who surrounds himself with a great diversity of opinion to challenge his thinking, he's a pretty single-minded individual," added Mr Ell, who is now chief executive of translation software firm Phrase.

Tesla said artificial intelligence would contribute to future growth, though investors have been unconvinced by such arguments in the past.

Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell, called expectations "rock-bottom" after the company said earlier this month that the number of cars sold in the quarter had fallen 13% to the lowest level in three years.

The firm faces fierce competition, Mr Coatsworth said, warning that potential disruption to global supply chains as a result of Trump's trade war also created risks.

"Tesla's problems are mounting," he said.

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US President Donald Trump has accused Volodymyr Zelensky of harming peace negotiations, after the Ukrainian president said Kyiv would not recognise Russian control of Crimea.

Writing on Truth Social, Trump claimed a deal to end the war was "very close", but that Zelensky's refusal to accept US terms "will do nothing but prolong" the conflict.

Earlier, US Vice-President JD Vance laid out the US vision for a deal, saying it would "freeze the territorial lines [...] close to where they are today".

Ukraine has long said it will not give up Crimea, which was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014.

Vance said the deal would mean Ukraine and Russia "are both going to have to give up some of the territory they currently own".

The administration has yet to publicly offer specifics about what geographic concessions would have to be made.

When asked by reporters at the White House about whether the administration was looking to recognise Russia's sovereignty over Crimea, Trump said he just wanted to see the war end.

"I have no favourites. I don't want to have any favourites. I want to have a deal done," he said.

Recognising Russia's illegal occupation of Crimea would not only be politically impossible for Zelensky to accept, it would also be contrary to post-war international legal norms that borders should not be changed by force.

He has consistently rejected the suggestion that his country give up its claim to the Crimean Peninsula.

"There's nothing to talk about here. This is against our constitution," he said.

The Ukrainian president later posted on social media:"Emotions have run high today."

In his post on X, he also attached a 2018 letter from then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo - who was appointed by Trump in his first term - that said the US rejected Russia's occupation of Crimea.

The back-and-forth comments from Trump and Zelensky are the latest chapter in an often fractious relationship.

In February, the pair clashed in a fiery meeting in the Oval Office.

Trump said on Wednesday in the Oval office that he found it easier to deal with Russia compared to Ukraine.

"I think Russia is ready," Trump said, noting he believed they were nearing a deal with the Kremlin but aren't there with Ukraine. "I thought it might be easier to deal with Zelensky. So far, it's been harder."

He left open the idea of meeting with the Ukrainian leader when world leaders gather for Pope Francis's funeral in Rome on Saturday.

On the campaign trail, Trump repeatedly said he could end the Ukraine-Russia war in one day, but as he approaches his 100th day in office, a truce remains elusive.

"The president is frustrated," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters. "His patience is running very thin."

She noted an end to the war will mean "both sides have to walk away a little bit unhappy", but Zelensky wasn't helping bring both sides together and "seems to be moving in the wrong direction".

Vance warned on Wednesday that the US would "walk away" from its deal-making role if Russia and Ukraine do not come to an agreement - echoing comments last week by Trump and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

US officials also pulled out of a London meeting to focus on talks in Moscow, as the pace of diplomacy to end the war quickens.

The London talks between officials from the UK, France, Germany, Ukraine and the US aimed at securing a ceasefire were downgraded this week after Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff pulled out.

Instead, Trump's Ukraine envoy Gen Keith Kellogg attended the talks in London, and Witkoff will head to Russia to meet President Vladimir Putin for the fourth time.

British diplomats said they were not entirely clear why Rubio and Witkoff had pulled out of the London talks.

The US state department blamed logistical reasons, but it was clear the decision was last-minute and left the Foreign Office wrongfooted.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Yuriy Sak, an adviser to Ukraine's ministry of strategic industries, said Ukrainian negotiators would attend the London meeting on a "very clear, narrow mandate" to achieve a ceasefire that will "pave the way for further talks".

Russia intensified its attacks on Ukraine on Wednesday, after a brief lull over Easter when it halted air strikes.

Nine people were killed and dozens more wounded in the eastern Ukrainian city of Marhanets when a Russian drone hit a bus carrying workers.

Putin called a temporary ceasefire for the Easter weekend but UK Defence Secretary John Healey told the House of Commons on Tuesday that British military intelligence had found no evidence of a let-up in attacks.

"While Putin has said he declared an Easter truce, he broke it," he said. "While Putin says he wants peace, he has rejected a full ceasefire; and while Putin says he wants to put an end to the fighting, he continues to play for time in the negotiations."

It is estimated that hundreds of thousands of people have been killed or injured on all sides since Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022, and nearly seven million Ukrainians are currently listed as refugees worldwide.

The conflict goes back more than a decade, to 2014, when Ukraine's pro-Russian president was overthrown. Russia then annexed Crimea and backed militants in bloody fighting in eastern Ukraine.

A team of Democratic lawmakers have met with two students who are currently in immigration detention in Louisiana.

The group visited the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) facility in Jena where former Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil and Rümeysa Öztürk, a graduate student at Tufts University in Massachusetts, are being held.

The two students, who participated in pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses, were detained separately in March by immigration officers.

Their arrests form part of the White House's crackdown on what it has classified as antisemitism on US college campuses.

The Democratic group included: representatives Cleo Fields and Troy Carter, both of Louisiana; Bennie Thompson of Mississippi; Ayana Pressley of Massachusetts; and Sen Edward J Markey, also of Massachusetts.

"No one should be snatched away from their family without due process," said Rep Carter.

He accused the administration of "doing this intentionally to demonstrate cruelty and instill fear in our friends and neighbours."

Mahmoud Khalil has been at the Louisiana detention centre since 8 March, when immigration officers told him he was being deported for taking part in protests against the war in Gaza.

The 30-year-old, who lives in New York, was a student negotiator at Columbia University during pro-Palestinian protests in 2024.

The Trump administration cited a 1952 law empowering the government to deport someone if their presence in the country posed unfavourable consequences for American foreign policy.

A judge in Louisiana said the Trump administration was allowed to move forward with its effort to deport Mr Khalil because the argument of "adverse foreign policy consequences" for the US is "facially reasonable".

In a recent open letter, Mr Khalil urged the US public to see that the country was "a democracy of convenience, and rights are granted to those who align with power."

His lawyers have told the BBC that they will continue to seek bail, as well as a preliminary injunction, to free him from custody.

His wife, Noor Abdalla, gave birth to their first child on Monday. She said Mr Khalil's application for a temporary release from the detention centre to attend the birth was declined.

"This was a purposeful decision by Ice to make me, Mahmoud, and our son suffer," Ms Abdalla said.

Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish citizen, was detained on 25 March outside Boston, as she was walking to an Iftar meal to celebrate Ramadan. Masked, plain-clothes officers handcuffed and lead her to an unmarked car. The PhD student participated in pro-Palestinian protests as a legal US resident.

Last week the US District Court for the District of Vermont ruled that her challenge to her unconstitutional detention by Ice should continue in Vermont and the government should transfer her back to a facility in Vermont no later than 1 May. The court also set a bail hearing for 9 May.

Legal teams for both students said choosing a Louisiana jail was deliberate to keep them away from their homes.

A statement Tuesday from the Democrats accuses the Trump administration of "ripping individuals from their communities and shipping them to jurisdictions more favorable to the Trump administration's deportation agenda".

The lawmakers also accused the government of lying about the decision to move Ms Ozturk due to a lack of bed space in detention facilities in the Boston area, where she was arrested.

They argued that the move was "an attempt to hand-pick the courts that will decide her case".

The court where her case will be heard is "very conservative", and is "the 'slowest moving' of the district courts in the state", and is "arguably the most right-wing federal appellate court in the country", the statement says.

It demands that Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and the acting director of Ice, Todd Lyons, answer questions regarding the decision to move her to Louisiana.

The forecast for US economic growth for this year has been given the biggest downgrade among advanced economies by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) due to uncertainty caused by trade tariffs.

Growth is now expected to be 1.8% this year, down from the IMF's estimate of 2.7% for the US in January.

The sharp increase in tariffs and uncertainty will lead to a "significant slowdown" in global growth, the Fund predicts.

The forecast for the UK has also been cut, with the economy now expected to grow by 1.1% this year.

But the IMF has predicted UK economic growth will be stronger than Germany, France, and Italy.

Inflation in the UK, however, will be the highest in the world's advanced economies, at 3.1% this year, largely due to higher bills, including for energy and water.

The predictions come as top economic policymakers gather in Washington for the spring meetings of the IMF and World Bank.

IMF chief economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas said the global economy "still bears significant scars" from the "severe shocks of the past four years".

"It is now being severely tested once again," he added.

President Donald Trump has made a flurry of announcements on tariffs this year - taxes charged on goods brought into the US from other countries.

In a growing trade war, the US has placed tariffs of up to 145% on Chinese goods, while China has hit back with 125% levies on US products.

The US has also introduced a 10% tax rate on goods from the vast majority of other countries, while pausing much higher rates for dozens of nations for 90 days.

Trump says tariffs will encourage US consumers to buy more American-made goods, increase the amount of tax raised, and lead to huge levels of investment in the country.

However, the IMF highlighted the potential negative impact on global trade given that modern supply chains are so interlinked.

Uncertainty around trade policy was a "major factor" behind the growth downgrades, Mr Gourinchas said.

"Faced with increased uncertainty... many firms' initial reaction will be to pause, reduce investment and cut purchases."

The IMF predicts the global economy will grow by 2.8% this year, down from its previous forecast of 3.3%, and by 3.0% in 2026.

The downgrade to the US growth forecast was due to greater policy uncertainty, trade tensions and slower than expected consumer spending, the IMF said. Tariffs are also expected to hit growth in 2026.

The IMF said there was now a 40% probability of a US recession this year, higher than its estimate of 25% in October last year.

Earlier on Tuesday, banking group the Institute of International Finance said it expected "a shallow recession" in the US later this year, with negative growth in the third and fourth quarters of 2025.

China is expected to grow by 4% this year, down from the IMF's previous estimate of 4.6%.

In the UK, the downward revision reflects the impact of tariffs, higher government borrowing costs, and weaker consumer spending as a result of higher bills and energy costs.

However, the IMF's 2025 prediction for the UK is now close to the 1% growth forecast by the government's Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) last month. The IMF expects the UK to grow by 1.4% next year.

Responding to the forecast, Chancellor Rachel Reeves said it showed the UK was still the fastest growing European G7 country due to "reform which will drive up long-term growth in the UK".

Reeves added that "the world has changed" and she would be in Washington this week "defending British interests and making the case for free and fair trade".

However, Mel Stride, the Conservative shadow chancellor, said the IMF outlook was "a worrying indictment of Labour's economic approach".

"The IMF has downgraded the UK's growth forecast, raising serious concerns about the lack of confidence and direction under Labour. They have also revised up significantly their forecast for inflation," he said.

The IMF's World Economic Outlook also contains the following forecasts:

• The eurozone growth prediction is trimmed to 0.8% for this year from 1%. It is then set to grow by 1.2% in 2026, helped by higher government spending in Germany
• Spain is the only advanced economy to see its 2025 growth forecast upgraded - to 2.5% from 2.3%. This is partly due to reconstruction activity following floods
• Canada's growth forecast for this year is cut to 1.4% from 2%, reflecting tariff uncertainty and "geopolitical tensions"
• Mexico sees the biggest downgrade. It is now predicted to contract by 0.3% this year, compared with January's forecast of 1.4% growth.

Forecasts are never perfect given the many factors that affect economic growth, and the IMF acknowledged its latest predictions had been particularly challenging.

The figures given are what the IMF calls its "reference forecast" based on the situation as at 4 April, which was two days after Trump's announcement of wide-ranging tariffs.

Mr Gourinchas said that while the reference forecast was the IMF's central scenario, "many possible paths exist, reflecting the unpredictability surrounding future trade policy and the varied impact of tariffs across different countries".

The IMF also looked at the situation after the US temporarily suspended many tariffs while raising those on China sharply.

Mr Gourinchas said the tariff pause did not "materially" change the global outlook from its reference forecast, because the overall effective tariff rate of the US and China remains high and uncertainty about the policy continues.

US stocks and the dollar plunged again as President Donald Trump intensified his attacks on US central bank boss calling him "a major loser" for not lowering interest rates.

In a social media post, Trump called on Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell to cut interest rates "pre-emptively" to help boost the economy, saying Powell had been consistently too slow to respond to economic developments.

"There can be a SLOWING of the economy unless Mr. Too Late, a major loser, lowers interest rates, NOW," he wrote.

Trump's criticism of Powell's handling of the US economy comes as his own plans for tariffs have driven a stock market sell-off and raised fears of economic recession.

The president's intensifying clash with Powell, whom he named to lead the Fed during his first term, has added to the market turmoil.

The S&P 500, which tracks 500 of the biggest US companies, fell roughly 2.4% on Monday. It has lost roughly 12% of its value since the start of the year.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 2.5% and has dropped about 10% so far this year, while the Nasdaq fell more than 2.5% and is down roughly 18% since January.

Though the dollar and US government bonds are typically considered safe assets in times of market turmoil, they have not escaped the recent turbulence.

The dollar index - which measures the strength of the dollar against a set of currencies including the Euro - on Monday fell to its lowest level since 2022.

Interest rates on US government debt also rose, as investors demanded higher returns for holding Treasuries.

Trump's criticism of Powell dates back to his first term in office, when he also reportedly discussed firing him. Since winning the election, he has urged Powell to lower borrowing costs.

The latest criticism follows Powell's warnings that Trump's import taxes were likely to drive up prices and slow the economy.

Trump last week called publicly for Powell to be fired, writing on social media on Thursday: "Powell's termination cannot come fast enough,".

Such a move would be controversial - and legally questionable - given a tradition of independence at the bank.

Powell last year told reporters he did not believe the president had the legal authority to remove him.

But one of Trump's top economic advisers confirmed that officials were studying the option on Friday, when the stock market in the US was closed for trading.