U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping held a long-anticipated phone call on Thursday in a renewed attempt to defuse escalating trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies.
The 90-minute conversation, the first publicly confirmed contact between the two leaders since Trump returned to office in January, focused almost exclusively on trade. Trump described the call as having a “very positive conclusion,” announcing that both sides agreed to a future in-person meeting and that trade teams would reconvene “shortly.”
“President Xi graciously invited the First Lady and me to visit China, and I reciprocated,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “As Presidents of two Great Nations, this is something that we both look forward to doing.”
While Trump’s tone was optimistic, China’s official response was notably more cautious. According to state news agency Xinhua, Xi emphasized the need to “correct the course” of Sino-U.S. relations, likening the effort to steering a “big ship” away from interference and instability. Xi reiterated his invitation for Trump to visit China, echoing a similar gesture made during Trump’s first term in 2017.
The call comes amid renewed volatility in bilateral ties. Both nations recently accused each other of undermining a fragile truce reached last month in Geneva, which temporarily reduced steep tariffs that had reached as high as 145% on Chinese goods and 125% on U.S. exports. Trump had accused China of violating the deal, while Beijing hit back, criticizing Washington’s new visa restrictions on Chinese students and other “discriminatory measures.”
Despite these setbacks, the two leaders did not address broader geopolitical issues such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “The conversation was focused almost entirely on TRADE,” Trump clarified, highlighting rare earth minerals, a critical input for tech manufacturing, as a key topic.
Until Thursday, speculation swirled around possible high-level contact, with Trump previously claiming in April that Xi had already called him, a claim Beijing denied. Chinese media now confirm that Trump initiated Thursday’s call.
While details of the upcoming leaders’ summit remain unannounced, the renewed dialogue suggests a mutual interest in stabilizing the turbulent U.S.-China economic relationship, even as political rhetoric on both sides remains tense.
Markets will be watching closely as the two countries attempt to turn diplomatic outreach into tangible trade progress.
Written By Rodney Mbua
