Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says trade talks with China have “stalled” and that President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, will speak “at some point.”

The United States is in the middle of a trade war with China, though the tariffs between the countries have been paused after a temporary agreement.

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“I would say that they are a bit stalled. I believe that we will be having more talks with them in the next few weeks, and I believe we may at some point have a call between the president and [Chinese Communist] Party Chair Xi,” Bessent said in an interview with Fox News.

When pressed again on the progress of the talks, Bessent emphasized that both leaders must meet.

“I think that given the magnitude of the talks, the complexity, this is going to require both leaders to weigh in with each other. They have a very good relationship, and I am confident that the Chinese will come to the table when President Trump makes his preferences known,” he added.

Bessent on China talks: I would say they are a bit stalled… pic.twitter.com/xzZDykkKNW

— Acyn (@Acyn) May 29, 2025

The Trump administration has been placing pressure on China in more ways than just tariffs. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Wednesday that the visas of Chinese students would be “aggressively” revoked. The administration also pressed some American companies to stop selling software used to design semiconductors to China.

Trump said a few weeks ago that he expects to speak with Xi soon. Last month, Chinese officials rejected a claim by Trump that Xi had called him, saying they had not spoken recently. “He’s called. And I don’t think that’s a sign of weakness on his behalf,” Trump had said.

CNN reported that the last time the two spoke by phone was on Jan. 17, meaning Trump has not spoken to Xi publicly since becoming president.

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A federal court recently paused most of Trump’s tariffs, including some on China. An appeals court temporarily reinstated them shortly after.

The deadline for the China-U.S. 90-day trade war ceasefire, which was instituted on May 12, is Aug. 10. In the meantime, the tariffs on China from the U.S. were set at 30%, while China’s tariffs were set at 10% for American goods.