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.

The Treasury secretary said that the President Trump and Xi Jinping of China have a good relationship but that he was not aware of a call, which Mr. Trump had alluded to last week.

Standing outside his friend’s cupcake shop, he says Donald Trump’s levies are a sign that America feels threatened by China’s rise. America’s power is declining, he says. “What you feel in today’s world is that hegemony is very hard to achieve.