Trump speaks to Xi on trade, says talks between U.S. and China will resume soon
Washington — President Trump spoke to Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday morning about the ongoing trade dispute between the U.S. and China, with Mr. Trump saying the two leaders agreed to have their teams resume talks "shortly."
Mr. Trump that he and Xi spoke for 90 minutes and addressed a number of outstanding issues surrounding a temporary truce reached on May 12 that was meant to alleviate the escalating trade war between the two countries. He said the conversation "was focused almost entirely on TRADE" and "resulted in a very positive conclusion for both Countries."
Under the May 12 deal, the U.S. agreed to reduce tariffs on Chinese goods to around 30% from 145%, while China reduced its levies on American imports to 10%. The 90-day accord was meant to give both sides breathing room to strike a broader agreement, but talks soon stalled.
Last week, Mr. Trump accused China of violating the May 12 deal. U.S. officials have said China is withholding some products, including rare earth minerals, that it agreed to resume exporting under the agreement. Earlier this week, China said the U.S. is undermining the deal by imposing new export control guidelines on AI chips and planning to revoke Chinese student visas.
In his post after Thursday's call with Xi, Mr. Trump said there "should no longer be any questions respecting the complexity of Rare Earth products." He said high-level talks between U.S. and Chinese officials would resume "shortly at a location to be determined," and that the U.S. would be represented by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.
The president echoed his statement in remarks to reporters at the White House later in the day. "I think we're in very good shape with China and the trade deal. We have a deal with China, as you know, but we were straightening out some of the points, having to do mostly with rare earths, magnets and other things," he said.
The U.S. president also said Xi invited him and first lady Melania Trump to China, and Mr. Trump in turn invited Xi to the U.S. "As Presidents of two Great Nations, this is something that we both look forward to doing," Mr. Trump wrote. He clarified later that he intends to take Xi up on his invitation and travel to China.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington the two leaders spoke at Mr. Trump's request. The Chinese summary of the meeting said, in part: "Recalibrating the direction of the giant ship of China-U.S. relations requires the two Presidents to take the helm and set the right course. It is particularly important to steer clear of the various disturbances and disruptions. The two countries' lead officials recently held economic and trade talks in Geneva, which marked an important step forward in resolving the relevant issues through dialogue and consultation."
On "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" on Sunday, Bessent said he was expecting the two leaders to resolve their issues when they spoke.
"I am confident that when President Trump and party Chairman Xi have a call, that this will be ironed out," Bessent said, referring to the dispute over rare earth minerals.
In an early morning on Truth Social on Wednesday, the president wrote that "I like President XI of China, always have, and always will, but he is VERY TOUGH, AND EXTREMELY HARD TO MAKE A DEAL WITH!!!"
