Trump speaks with Xi amid stalled talks between the US and China over tariffs

WASHINGTON AP U S President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping spoke on Thursday at a time when stalled tariff negotiations between their two countries have roiled global deal The conversation was substantiated by the Chinese foreign ministry which disclosed Trump initiated the call The White House did not promptly comment Trump had declared one day earlier that it was complex to reach a deal with Xi I like President XI of China reliably have and reliably will but he is VERY TOUGH AND EXTREMELY HARD TO MAKE A DEAL WITH Trump posted Wednesday on his social media site Bargain negotiations between the United States and China stalled shortly after a May agreement between the two countries to reduce their tariff rates while talks played out Behind the gridlock has been the continued competition for an economic edge The U S accuses China of not exporting critical minerals and the Chinese authorities objects to America restricting its sale of advanced chips and its access to pupil visas for college and graduate students Trump has lowered his tariffs on Chinese goods to for days to allow for talks China also reduced its taxes on U S goods from to The back and forth has caused sharp swings in global markets and threatens to hamper commerce between the two countries Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had suggested that only a conversation between Trump and Xi could resolve these differences so that talks could restart in earnest The underlying tension between the two countries may still persist though Even if negotiations resume Trump wants to lessen America s reliance on Chinese factories and reindustrialize the U S whereas China wants the ability to continue its push into technologies such as electric vehicles and artificial intelligence that could be crucial to securing its economic future The United States ran a contract imbalance of billion with China in according to the Census Bureau While the Chinese ruling body s focus on manufacturing has turned it into a major economic and geopolitical power China has been muddling through a slowing commercial sector after a real estate problem and coronavirus pandemic lockdowns weakened consumer spending Trump and Xi had last spoken in January three days before Inauguration Day The pair discussed agreement then as well as Trump s demands that China do more to prevent the synthetic opioid fentanyl from entering the United States Trump had long expressed optimism about the prospects for a major deal before his post suggesting Xi was making that complicated Last week Trump went further posting The bad news is that China perhaps not surprisingly to a few HAS TOTALLY VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT WITH US Trump posted So much for being Mr NICE GUY