President Donald Trump said early Wednesday morning that Chinese President Xi Jinping is “very tough” and “extremely hard to make a deal with” as the United States attempts to advance trade talks with China.
While the president’s top trade officials have met with their Chinese counterparts, Trump has yet to sit down with Xi since imposing massive tariffs on Chinese imports. A senior White House official told CNBC that Trump and Xi would likely speak “very soon,” potentially this week.
“I like President Xi of China, always have, and always will, but he is VERY TOUGH, AND EXTREMELY HARD TO MAKE A DEAL WITH!!!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Last week, Trump accused China of violating its 90-day trade agreement with the United States, while Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that the talks with China “are a bit stalled.”
“Because of this deal, everything quickly stabilized and China got back to business as usual. Everybody was happy!” the president said, referring to the 90-day pause on tariffs. “That is the good news!!! The bad news is that China, perhaps not surprisingly to some, HAS TOTALLY VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT WITH US. So much for being Mr. NICE GUY!”
Trump’s frustration with China likely stemmed from the Chinese government’s slow progress in complying with the 90-day trade truce that froze most tariffs. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told CNBC last week that China was not fulfilling its promise to export rare earth minerals to the United States after restricting shipments in response to Trump’s tariffs.
“We haven’t seen the flow of some of those critical minerals as they were supposed to be doing,” Greer said, adding, “China continues to slow down and choke off things like critical minerals and rare Earth magnets.”
Newly appointed Ambassador to China, David Perdue, met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Tuesday. During their discussion, Yi accused the United States of imposing “a series of negative measures for groundless reasons, infringing upon China’s legitimate rights and interests,” according to a readout from the Chinese government. Perdue said that during the meeting, he “emphasized President Trump’s priorities on trade, fentanyl, and illegal immigration,” adding that “communication is vital” for the U.S.-China relationship.
In a meeting today with Central Foreign Affairs Commission Office Director and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, I emphasized President Trump's priorities on trade, fentanyl, and illegal immigration. Communication is vital to the ????????-???????? relationship. pic.twitter.com/RszJpF6ItB
— U.S. Ambassador to China David Perdue (@USAmbChina) June 3, 2025
Bessent told CBS News in an interview on Sunday that he remains “confident” that the U.S.-China trade talks will be “ironed out.”
“The fact that they are withholding some of the products that they agreed to release during our agreement — maybe it’s a glitch in the Chinese system, maybe it’s intentional,” Bessent said. “We’ll see after the president speaks with the party chairman.”