Lock the White House Watch Newsletter for free
Your Guide to What Trump’s Second Season Means Washington, Business and World
Donald Trump spoke with National President Xi Jinping on a phone Thursday, saying the state-owned Xi News Agency is boiling down trade tensions between all two big economies around the world.
The two men were last known to have spoken to each other in January before Trump’s second inauguration as president. Xinhua added that calls were made in response to Trump’s request.
The White House did not immediately release a statement about the conversation.
The call came a day after the US president described his Chinese counterpart as “very difficult to sign a contract” as he accused his Chinese counterpart of repeating each other of the trade ceasefire he signed in Geneva last month.
The deal reached between the Swiss US and China temporarily reduced Tat’s tariffs, which had risen by 145%.
But last week, Washington accused Beijing of not falling into a promise to approve licenses for rare earth exports, leading to a shortage of threatening to shut down some of the US industry.
China has issued a new warning about the global use of Huawei chips, accusing the US of “seriously violating” the Geneva agreement by halting the sale of chip design software to Chinese companies and canceling visas for Chinese students.
Earlier on Thursday, China’s Commerce Ministry spoke rebelliously against export restrictions. Reporters in Beijing reported that they are a common international practice given the rare earth can be used for civil and military purposes.
The US-China trade war has recovered since the armistice hatched in Switzerland last month, causing sharp sales in stable global stocks.
However, investors are carefully watching whether the agreement will be held or tensions will rekindle, increasing the possibility of another escalation of tariffs.
Trump frequently says his strong personal relationship with XI will help reduce trade and strategic tensions between the US and China.
In early 2020, Trump attacked a trade deal with XI, bringing a temporary end to the trade war that began in 2018.
But the deal was rapidly overshadowed by an eruption of tensions between the US and China during the pandemic, and then collapsed after US officials from the Biden administration accused China of failing to comply with its commitments.
Thursday’s call between Trump and XI comes ahead of the US president’s planning meeting at the White House with German Prime Minister Friedrich Merz, whose trade tensions between the US and the EU, are expected to top the agenda.
Trump threatened to impose a 50% tariff on EU imports on July 9, unless it reaches a deal with Brussels.