A combine and a grain cart work in a soybean field of Pellett family's farm in Atlantic, a small city in Iowa, the United States, Oct. 16, 2019.Photo:Xinhua

US President Donald Trump has been making contradictory statements about the China-US phase one trade agreement, claiming that he canceled trade talks over the weekend while also boasting about China's purchases of American products - underscoring the dilemma for the US president, who both wants to preserve the phase one deal and appear tough on China in a heated US election season.

During a campaign speech to his supporters Tuesday, Trump said that "I canceled the talks with China" and "I don't want to talk to China now," referring to a pre-scheduled meeting between leading Chinese and US trade officials over the weekend. 

Neither Beijing nor Washington confirmed the meeting. The latest remarks sparked some doubts about the phase one trade deal.

Noticeably, Trump's remarks Tuesday came just a few days after he boasted three days ago that China was buying the "largest" amount of US corn and a "massive" amount of US soybeans. "China has been buying a lot of - a lot of things," Trump said at a press briefing.

Facing rising demand domestically, China reached deals to purchase 195,000 tons of US corn, the US Department of Agriculture said Tuesday. That came after a record single-day purchase of 1.937 million tons of US soybeans on July 30, according to Reuters.

China has also been active in importing US soybeans, buying 2.3 million tons from August 7 to 14, according to Zhang Xiaoping, country director for China at the US Soybean Export Council. 

"I don't understand what [Trump] was speaking about, but the phase one trade deal is progressing as planned," Song Guoyou, director of Fudan University's Center for Economic Diplomacy, said. 

Song noted that with or without the weekend meeting, both sides are committed to implementing the deal, which is needed by both countries.

Contrary to Trump's claim, Chinese experts said that the meeting did not take place as reported because there was not a "good atmosphere" for meaningful talks, given the US' relentless attack against Chinese companies.

Trump's self-contradictory remarks laid bare his dilemma between keeping the phase one trade deal and also appearing "tough" on China before his supporters as the US presidential election draws near.

Trump's remarks on Tuesday also contradicted what his advisers had been saying about the phase one deal. White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said last week that the administration was "satisfied" with the progress of the deal.

Chinese officials, while reiterating that Beijing is committed to the agreement, are calling for the US side to create favorable conditions for the implementation of the deal, while the US constantly seeks to escalate tensions.