President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping held a telephone call Thursday in the middle of the current tensions between the two superpowers – with a new meeting in person planned soon.
The Chinese state media and the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that the appeal occurred at the request of the White House. The Chinese Foreign Ministry said Thursday morning that the appeal was underway at 9 a.m.
In A Social Post of Truth Just before 11 a.m., Trump said that the call lasted about 90 minutes, but provided little details about it except for it to focus on trade. He said that a meeting will now be held “shortly” between representatives of the two nations in one location to be determined.
This is the first known call between the two leaders of Trump’s second term, although the two spoke in January before the inauguration of Trump.
Trump had Posted on social networks early Wednesday To broadcast his frustrations on how conversations between the United States and China took place.
“I like President XI of China, I always have, and I will always do it, but it is very hard and extremely difficult to conclude an agreement !!!” Asset wrote at 2:17
The United States and China have been locked up in a stormy trade war Since the first days of Trump’s second administrationWith volley of prices and reprisals ratings increasing rights over billions of dollars in goods.
The current price level on Chinese imports brought to the United States is at least 30%. This is down compared to the punitive level of 145%that Trump imposed until a handshake in Geneva last month causes a mutual position position which also saw China reduce its rights on American imports to 10%, compared to 125%.
But tensions warmed on Friday after Trump accused China of raping Geneva’s understanding, but without adding many details. Who prompted China to level a similar accusation Against Trump on Monday.
A spokesman for China said that Xi had underlined the appeal that his nation had “seriously implemented” the Geneva Agreement and that the United States should “revoke its negative measures against China”.
Trump remains obsessed with the closure of the American trade deficit with China, which is the difference between the quantity of China in the United States from China compared to the quantity it exports. THURSDAY, New data has shown that the gap has dropped sharply in April.
This is an indication that the new prices began to strike hard. Data from the US Commerce Department have shown the greatest drop in total imports. The deficit with China has decreased to $ 19.7 billion, the lowest level since March 2020.
“The net narrowing in the international trade deficit of the United States in April tells us that the temporary follies of the first quarter by companies that hold the request to get ahead of the prices have followed its course,” Wells Fargo economists wrote in a note After the publication of the data.
Trump promised that his unprecedented price Gambit will lead to trade agreements – but despite a wave of promises and declarations that they are close, no firm transaction has materialized. Even the agreement with the United Kingdom announced last month to the Oval of the Bureau has been described As simply a “political pact” rather than a formalized and mutually beneficial trade agreement.
It is leads to growing criticisms This Trump pricing strategy has little to show so far in addition to blurring investment and hiring plans of companies around the world.
Trump faces a particularly complex set of problems with China. In addition to the trade, he also tries to fight Tiktok from the Chinese property, while seeking to stem the flow of illegal fentanyl which, according to the authorities, comes largely from Chinese manufacturers.
Although there is Signs of slowing down fentanyl attacks on the American border -MexicoThere was no sign of progress in Tiktok talks. A deadline that would force Tiktok’s Chinese mother company, Bytedance, to sell the popular social media app or to face an American ban should expire on June 19. Trump is now faced with the prospect of having to extend the deadline for the third time.
Tara Prindiville,, Rebecca Shabad,, Megan Lebowitz,, Peter Guo,, Rae Wang And Dawn Liu contributed.
