Trump, Xi Break Trade Deadlock, Invite Each Other for Visits
President Donald Trump said he had a "very good phone call" Chinese President Xi Jinping to resolve some of the differences on trade, and that the two leaders had invited each other for visits to their respective countries.
"As Presidents of two Great Nations, this is something that we both look forward to doing," Trump said on Truth Social. He said his call with Xi lasted for around one and a half hours and came to a "very positive conclusion" for the U.S. and China.
Chinese state media was the first to report the call, but has not, at the time of writing, given a readout from Beijing of what was discussed.
Trade tensions have reignited in recent days between China and the U.S., with both sides accusing each other of violating a previous tariff-slashing agreement made in Geneva.
The renewed tensions unsettled global markets, threatening once again to throw supply chains into turmoil and sharply increase business costs through the reimposition of sky-high tariffs.
"The conversation was focused almost entirely on TRADE. Nothing was discussed concerning Russia/Ukraine, or Iran," Trump said.
May's Geneva agreement saw tariff rates come down by 115 percentage points on either side, de-escalating a trade war that exploded in April with Trump's sky-high reciprocal tariffs and Beijing's subsequent retaliations.
China had pointed to U.S. export controls on chips, stopping the sale of chip design software, and the revocation of Chinese student visas as violations of the Geneva agreement.
The U.S. was frustrated by slow progress from China on easing its rare earths export controls, a key outcome agreed at the talks in Switzerland, which are essential for certain manufacturing industries, such as autos.
"There should no longer be any questions respecting the complexity of Rare Earth products," Trump said on Truth Social after his call with Xi. "Our respective teams will be meeting shortly at a location to be determined."
Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, and United States Trade Representative, Ambassador Jamieson Greer, will represent the U.S. at these upcoming talks with China.
Trump had said previously that he planned to speak with Xi soon to iron out the issues.
"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 had posted to his Truth Social platform on Wednesday.
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