USA – U.S. President Donald Trump held a phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday, as tensions between the two nations continue to escalate over trade and student visa policies.
The conversation comes amid Trump’s ongoing efforts to reshape the U.S.-China trade relationship through a series of sweeping tariffs. Chinese state media outlet Xinhua reported that the call took place at the request of the United States. The day prior, Trump had acknowledged that securing a trade agreement with China was proving to be “difficult.”In the first public readout of the call, Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social: “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. The call lasted approximately one and a half hours and resulted in a very positive conclusion for both countries.” He added, “There should no longer be any questions regarding the complexity of rare earth products. Our respective teams will be meeting shortly at a location to be determined. During the conversation, President Xi graciously invited the First Lady and me to visit China, and I reciprocated.” Trump noted that the discussion focused almost entirely on trade, with no mention of the Russia-Ukraine war or ongoing nuclear negotiations with Iran. On Wednesday, ahead of the call, Trump had posted: “I like President Xi of China, always have and always will, but he is VERY TOUGH, AND EXTREMELY HARD TO MAKE A DEAL WITH!!!” (Aljazeera)