According to John Shea, founder and CEO of digital retail consultancy Momentum Commerce, the U.S. economy now faces the "double whammy" of rising prices and a drop in consumer spending as a result of the president's trade policies.

By Laurie Chen, Michael Martina BEIJING/WASHINGTON (Reuters) -When the leaders of some of the world's largest companies flocked to Beijing for a business forum last month, their main purpose was a coveted meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Sunday did not back President Donald Trump's assertion that tariff talks with China were under way and said he did not know if the U.S. president had talked to Chinese President Xi Jinping.