Trump and Xi hold long-awaited phone call, 'focused almost entirely on trade'

Australia Broadcast Center

2 days ago

US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping have spoken on the phone and agreed to further talks to hash out differences on tariffs that have roiled the global economy.
According to US and Chinese summaries of the phone call, on Thursday, the leaders extended invitations to each other to meet in person.
Posting on Truth Social, Mr Trump said the call lasted an hour-and-a-half and "focused almost entirely on trade".
The highly anticipated call came amid accusations between Washington and Beijing in recent weeks over "rare earths" minerals in a dispute that has threatened to tear up a fragile truce in the trade war between the world's two biggest economies.
"I just concluded a very good phone call with President Xi, of China, discussing some of the intricacies of our recently made, and agreed to, trade deal," Mr Trump's post read.
"The call lasted approximately one-and-a-half hours, and resulted in a very positive conclusion for both countries.
"There should no longer be any questions respecting the complexity of rare earth products. Our respective teams will be meeting shortly at a location to be determined."
Meanwhile, the Chinese government said in a statement published by the state-run Xinhua news agency: "The US side should take a realistic view of the progress made and withdraw the negative measures imposed on China,.
'"Xi Jinping welcomed Trump's visit to China again, and Trump expressed his sincere gratitude."
The countries struck a 90-day deal on May 12 to roll back some of the triple-digit, tit-for-tat tariffs they had placed on each other since Mr Trump's January inauguration.
Though stocks rallied, the temporary deal did not address broader concerns that strain the bilateral relationship, from the illicit fentanyl trade to the status of democratically governed Taiwan and US complaints about China's state-dominated, export-driven economic model.
Since returning to the White House in January, Mr Trump has repeatedly threatened an array of punitive measures on trading partners, only to revoke some of them at the last minute. The on-again, off-again approach has baffled world leaders and spooked business executives, who say the uncertainty has made it difficult to forecast market conditions.
China's decision in April to suspend exports of a wide range of critical minerals and magnets continues to disrupt supplies needed by automakers, computer chip manufacturers and military contractors around the world.
Beijing sees mineral exports as a source of leverage — halting those exports could put domestic political pressure on the Republican US president if economic growth sags because companies cannot produce mineral-powered products.
The 90-day deal to roll back tariffs and trade restrictions is tenuous. Mr Trump has accused China of violating the agreement and has ordered curbs on chip design software and other shipments to China, while also doubling steel and aluminium tariffs to 50 per cent. Beijing rejected the claim and threatened counter-measures.
In recent years, the United States has identified China as its top geopolitical rival and the only country in the world able to challenge the US economically and militarily.
Despite this and repeated trade threats and tariff announcements, Mr Trump has spoken admiringly of Mr Xi, including of the Chinese leader's toughness and ability to stay in power without the term limits imposed on US presidents.
Mr Trump has long pushed for a call or a meeting with Mr Xi, but China has rejected that as not in keeping with its traditional approach of working out agreement details before the leaders talk.
The US president and his aides see leader-to-leader talks as vital to sort through log-jams that have vexed lower-level officials in difficult negotiations.
Thursday's call came at Mr Trump's request, China said.
It's not clear when the two men last spoke.
Both sides said they spoke on January 17, days before Mr Trump's inauguration and Mr Trump has repeatedly said that he had spoken to Mr Xi since taking office on January 20.
He has declined to say when any call took place or to give details of their conversation. China had said that the two leaders had not had any recent phone calls.
The talks are being closely watched by investors worried that a chaotic trade war could cut into corporate earnings and disrupt supply chains in the key months before the Christmas holiday shopping season. Mr Trump's tariffs are also the subject of ongoing litigation in US courts.
Mr Trump has met Mr Xi on several occasions, including exchange visits in 2017, but they have not met face to face since 2019 talks in Osaka, Japan.
Mr Xi last travelled to the US in November 2023, for a summit with then-President Joe Biden, resulting in agreements to resume military-to-military communications and curb fentanyl production.
Reuters/ABC