President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke on the phone Thursday morning, the first time the pair has had a conversation since Trump’s return to the White House, according to Chinese state media.
The phone call, which China underscored in Xi’s readout was at Trump’s request, comes amid increasing tensions over Trump’s trade and tariff policy, as China retaliates with export controls on several rare earth minerals and magnets critical to the U.S.’s automotive, defense, and energy industries.
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Xinhua News Agency reported the Trump-Xi phone call, but the White House has yet to confirm the conversation. A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C., did not respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.
Against the backdrop of legal challenges to his trade policy, Trump decreased the 145% tariff rate on Chinese goods to 30% last month after the two sides sat down for negotiations in Geneva, Switzerland. China responded in kind by dropping its respective rate on U.S. goods from 125% to 10%.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent previewed the prospect of the call last weekend after Trump himself told reporters he expected to speak with Xi last month.
This story is developing.