Washington and Beijing are still a "sizeable distance" apart in the trade talks, and no date has been set for a meeting between the countries' leaders, a top White House adviser said Thursday.
The remarks helped deepen losses on Wall Street, which opened lower on Thursday following downbeat economic forecasts for major European economies.
President Donald Trump last week said he expected to meet with China's President Xi Jinping in person "in the near future" to seal a final trade deal.
But top White House economist Larry Kudlow told Fox Business on Thursday that "No date has been set, no time, no place, no nothing at the moment."
CNBC also reported Thursday that an unnamed senior administration official said it was "highly unlikely" a Trump-Xi meeting could occur before the March 1 tariffs deadline but could happen "shortly thereafter."