Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump held a much-anticipated 90-minute telephone call during which they discussed Taiwan and their troubled trading relationship before extending invitations to visit each other’s capitals. China insisted that the call was made at Trump's request. The U.S. President said on social media the call “resulted in a very positive conclusion for both countries”. “During the conversation, President Xi graciously invited the First Lady and me to visit China, and I reciprocated. As Presidents of two great nations, this is something that we both look forward to doing,” he added. The news followed weeks of tit-for-tat accusations as Washington and Beijing blamed each other for breaching a deal reached weeks ago in Geneva when the world’s two largest economies agreed to dramatically cut reciprocal tariffs for 90 days, an outcome Trump then dubbed a “total reset”.
According to separate readouts, the leaders agreed to reverse blocked visas for Chinese students studying in the U.S., an irritant for Beijing, and resume Chinese exports of rare earth minerals, an irritant for Washington. But the tone of the read-outs was notably different, with Trump’s being more positive and China’s more cautious. While a CCTV account said Xi emphasized the importance of the Taiwan issue, Trump noted that the conversation “focused almost entirely on trade”, adding that it did not cover Russia, Ukraine or Iran. “President Xi Jinping emphasized that the United States should handle the Taiwan issue with caution,” according to CCTV, to avoid dragging “the two countries into a dangerous situation of conflict and confrontation”. Both sides cited the Geneva agreement as a point of reference to build on, although Beijing appeared keen to establish that it had acted responsibly. “The Chinese people always keep their promises and follow through on their actions. Since a consensus has been reached, both sides should abide by it,” Beijing said. “The U.S. side should view the progress made in a realistic manner and withdraw the negative measures it has imposed on China,” it added.
Analysts suggested China was increasingly confident. “Beijing’s willingness to proceed now suggests it feels it holds the stronger hand,” said Daniel Russel of the Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI). China knows Trump is eager for a deal and is leveraging that to the hilt.” Russel noted Trump’s restrained account of the meeting without his signature all caps wording, “presumably because Beijing had demanded assurances he wouldn’t mouth off as a condition for consenting to the call”. U.S. trade officials and analysts expressed hope that the top-level breakthrough would help ease tensions after weeks of rhetoric and tit-for-tat moves that have unnerved global trade, the South China Morning Post reports.
Following the call between the two presidents, the U.S. also decided not to label China a currency manipulator in the treasury's semi-annual report to Congress, but still accused China of lacking transparency in its exchange rate policies. President Trump also announced that U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer would head future negotiations with China and that a first negotiation round would be held in London this week.
