Trump Holds Phone Call With Xi Jinping, Says Talk Focused ‘Almost Entirely on Trade’

US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping held a phone conversation on Thursday, their first known direct communication since the White House implemented a new wave of tariffs on Chinese goods. In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump stated the discussion was almost exclusively focused on the contentious issue of trade between the world’s two largest economies.

“As Presidents of two Great Nations, this is something that we both look forward to doing. The conversation was focused almost entirely on TRADE,” Trump wrote, adding, “Nothing was discussed concerning Russia/Ukraine, or Iran. We will inform the Media as to scheduling and location of the soon to be meeting.” The Chinese government has yet to release its official readout of the call.

The direct talk between the two leaders comes amidst escalating friction and fears of a renewed trade war. It follows recent remarks from Trump where he described President Xi as “VERY TOUGH, AND EXTREMELY HARD TO MAKE A DEAL WITH,” after accusing Beijing of backtracking on a trade agreement reached in Geneva last month.

That agreement, reached in May, was intended to de-escalate tensions. Under the deal, the US had agreed to lower its tariffs on Chinese imports from a steep 145% to 30%, while China was to reduce its tariffs on American products from 125% to 10%. However, the truce appears to have collapsed, with Trump accusing China of failing to uphold its commitments to reduce trade barriers.

The phone call follows the implementation of the White House’s so-called “Liberation Day” tariffs, a new set of duties that have further strained relations.

Adding to the economic friction, the Trump administration has recently widened punitive actions against China. These measures include revoking visas for some Chinese students enrolled at US universities and imposing new restrictions on the export of specialized software crucial for designing advanced semiconductors.

Beijing has strongly condemned these moves, accusing Washington of “seriously violating” the spirit of the Geneva agreement. Chinese officials have pointed to the US issuing global warnings against the use of Huawei technology, halting sales of critical chip design software to Chinese firms, and cancelling student visas as aggressive and protectionist actions.

The last publicly known conversation between Trump and Xi was in January 2025, ahead of Trump’s second inauguration as president. The latest phone call hints at a potential effort to re-engage at the highest level, though the substantive disagreements on trade and technology remain significant hurdles to resolving the ongoing dispute.