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.

President Donald Trump’s tariff onslaught has roiled Washington and Wall Street for nearly a month. If the trade war persists, the next upheaval will hit much closer to home.

President Donald Trump said Saturday that he is beginning to question whether Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to end the Russia-Ukraine war, a warning shot to the Russian leader that came just after Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Rome.

President Donald Trump said Saturday that he doubts Russia's Vladimir Putin wants to end his war in Ukraine, expressing new skepticism that a peace deal can be reached soon. Only a day earlier, Trump had said Ukraine and Russia were “ very close to a deal.