Trump and Xi Hold First Call in Months
Chinese President Xi Jinping is seen at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Hanoi on April 15, 2025. Credit - Athit Perawongmetha—POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Trump and Xi Hold First Call in Months, Setting Stage For More Trade Talks
President Donald Trump spoke with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Thursday as tariff negotiations between the world's two largest economies have stalled in recent weeks.
The call lasted about 90 minutes and focused 'almost entirely on trade,' Trump said in a social media post Thursday morning. Talks had been expected to take place this week after representatives from both countries met in Geneva last month and agreed to temporarily pause the trade war. China's official Xinhua News Agency said the call took place at Trump's request.
Trump said a follow-up trade meeting would be held soon, and that both he and Xi had invited each other for official state visits.
Trump said one day earlier that it was difficult to reach a deal with Xi: 'I like President XI of China, always have, and always will, but he is VERY TOUGH, AND EXTREMELY HARD TO MAKE A DEAL WITH!!!,' Trump wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday.
The call was likely the first time they spoke since Trump took office in January. However, in an April interview with TIME, Trump claimed that Xi had already called him—which Chinese officials disputed.
Trade negotiations between the two leaders had stalled after both countries agreed on May 12 to temporarily lower tariffs, with Trump dropping his 145% tariffs on Chinese goods to 30% for 90 days, and Xi easing its levies from 125% to 10%. But the Trump Administration has accused China of reneging on the terms by curbing exports of rare earth minerals used by American manufacturers. China has rejected that charge, saying its export controls apply globally and are not targeted at the United States. In response, the Trump Administration has proposed revoking visas for some Chinese students and issuing new export controls on advanced technologies such as jet engine components and A.I. chips.
'China, perhaps not surprisingly to some, HAS TOTALLY VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT WITH US,' Trump wrote on Truth Social last week. 'So much for being Mr. NICE GUY!'
Trump has made reducing America's dependency on Chinese manufacturing a cornerstone of his second-term agenda. Xi, facing a sluggish post-COVID economy and persistent pressures from a real estate slowdown, is pushing to secure China's dominance in future technologies like electric vehicles and artificial intelligence.
The United States ran a $295 billion trade deficit with China in 2024, according to U.S. Census Bureau data, a figure Trump frequently cites as evidence of unfair trade practices. His Administration maintains that only top-level talks can break the current deadlock. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently said that a leader-to-leader exchange was essential to restart negotiations in earnest.
Write to Nik Popli at nik.popli@time.com.
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