US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke on Thursday amid escalating tensions over the stalled tariff negotiations, reports AP quoting Chinese state media.
According to Beijing’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and China’s embassy in the US, the call was initiated by US President Trump.
After the phone calls, Trump in a post on Truth Social said “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. There should no longer be any questions respecting the complexity of Rare Earth products”, he said, referring to Beijing blocking rare earth metals exports crucial to manufacturing automobiles, phones and missiles.
“Our respective teams will be meeting shortly at a location to be determined”, he said
The call comes after Trump described Xi as a “very tough" and “extremely hard to make a deal with" after accusing Beijing of backtracking on a trade agreement which was aimed at easing tariffs and restrictions between the both countries.
“I like President Xi of China, always have, and always will, but he is VERY TOUGH, AND EXTREMELY HARD TO MAKE A DEAL WITH," Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social, his social media platform.
Both the leaders reportedly spoke last with each other in January before the second inauguration of Donald Trump as the president of the United States. Recently, Trump hinted that a call was likely, as the White House suggested direct talks could help defuse rising tensions.
An official press release in Beijing said Xi told Trump that China seriously implemented the Geneva agreement to reduce tariffs.
The US should look at the progress made in a realistic way and withdraw the negative measures it has taken against China, Xi told Trump. Dialogue and cooperation is the only right choice, Xi added.
(With inputs from PTI.)