(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the phone Thursday amid a trade war between the two countries, according to Chinese state media.
The call happened at Trump’s request, Chinese State News Agency Xinhua reported.
Their conversation is a significant development amid the trade war between the U.S. and China, the world’s two largest economies.
On Wednesday, Trump wrote on his conservative social media platform: “I like President XI of China, always have, and always will, but he is VERY TOUGH, AND EXTREMELY HARD TO MAKE A DEAL WITH!!!”
Their conversation comes after Trump accused China of violating a deal negotiated by top officials in Geneva last month to roll back high tariff rates for 90 days. The agreement saw the U.S. drop the rate on Chinese goods coming to the U.S. from over 145% to 30%. China lowered its levy on U.S. goods from 125% to 10%.
Trump, last Friday, said China had breached the temporary truce though didn’t provide details.
“So much for being Mr. NICE GUY!” he wrote on his conservative social media platform.
Beijing pushed back on Monday, saying it “firmly rejects unreasonable accusations” and that it was the U.S. that “unilaterally provoked new economic and trade frictions.”
White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, during an appearance on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday, had said the expectation was for Trump and China’s Xi to talk this week.
Hassett said “the two of them will talk about the Geneva agreement, which we’re all very favorably inclined towards, thinking this is a huge step forward. But then what happened is that people had to — in China — had to give us licenses for things, and the licenses, we believe, have been slow rolled is something that the presidents want to talk about this week.”
Hassett also said that U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer’s team and their counterparts in China are “talking every day trying to move the ball forward on this matter.”
Greer said on CNBC last week that China was slow-walking approval of export licenses for rare earth materials, which was also a part of the Geneva agreement.
Meanwhile, Chinese leaders said recently that they have their own concerns about U.S. restrictions on tech exports and the Trump administration’s attempt to revoke Chinese student visas.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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