New Delhi: US President Donald Trump dialled Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday amid the raging tariff war between the two superpowers. It was their first direct conversation since Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariff announcement.
Trump called up Xi a day after he posted on Truth Social that he has “always liked” the Chinese president, and added that Jinping is “extremely hard to make a deal with”.
On Wednesday, Trump posted: “I like President XI of China, always have, and always will, but he is VERY TOUGH, AND EXTREMELY HARD TO MAKE A DEAL WITH!!!.”
The Trump-Xi phone call was confirmed by Chinese state media. A Xinhua report pointed out that the Chinese foreign ministry said the conversation took place at the White House’s request. No other information has been made public regarding what the conversation revolved around.
Talks over the contentious trade tariffs between the two countries remain deadlocked, which has affected the global markets. The negotiations between the two nations had temporarily resumed following a May 12 agreement to reduce tariffs, but no headway was made. Trump has claimed that China is “slow-walking” negotiations, but Beijing says it is adhering to its principles.
The Trump-Xi call came just hours after the US president doubled duties on aluminum and steel from 25% to 50%, escalating tensions with allies such as Canada and Mexico, who said they would hit back.
Earlier in April, Trump had declared he would be increasing the tariff rates for China to 145 per cent. Responding to it, China also imposed sharp tariffs on US goods, raising the total duty to 125 per cent.
But, in May, delegations from the two countries reached an agreement in Geneva which reduced US tariffs on goods from China from 145 per cent to 30 per cent. China also reduced its tariffs on US goods from 125 per cent to 10 per cent. After this deal, there was no headway in trade negotiations.
In a recent statement, the Chinese Commerce Ministry alleged that the US had breached their trade deal by resorting to “multiple discriminatory restrictive measures against China”.
