WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump says his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, invited him to visit Beijing and he reciprocated the invitation during a call in which they discussed the trade fight between the world’s two largest economies.
Trump said in a June 5 social media post that trade and the invitations to visit each other’s respective countries were the only topics of conversation after the two nations paused tit-for-tat tariffs and began longer term negotiations.
Xinhua, the Chinese state news agency, said in a statement that the two leaders spoke but provided no further details on the call, which prompted a brief jump in futures and then a drop in U.S. stock prices when financial markets opened.
The Chinese embassy in Washington said the leaders spoke at Trump’s request. The White House did not respond to a request for comment. It is the first known call between the leaders since Trump took office. Their last reported conversation took place several days before Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 17.
Trump visited Xi in Beijing during his first term, a lavish affair in which the Chinese leader rolled out the red carpet for him.
More: Trump officials say trade deal reached with China but details remain unclear
Trump’s administration had said a call was likely to take place between the leaders this week without specifying when. The White House declined earlier in the week to say what the leaders would discuss, though tariffs and new U.S. visa restrictions on Chinese students were expected to be topics.
The American president accused China in late May of “totally violating” a preliminary deal that brough tariffs down from 145% on Chinese imports to 30% while their trade teams negotiated a long-term agreement. China also reduced its tariffs on U.S. exports from 125% to 10% as part of the talks.
China this week accused the U.S. of severely undermining the 90-day truce with artificial intelligence microchip export controls and its crackdown on visas for students in critical fields or who the U.S. says are associated with the Chinese Communist Party.
Trump said in his social media post that he worked out issues involving critical minerals during his one and a half hour call with Xi and that their trade teams would be meeting again soon to work out the details.
In his latest directive on student admissions, Trump said in a June 4 order that Harvard would no longer be allowed to participate in the international student visa program.
China’s foreign ministry responded harshly to that directive, telling reporters during a June 5 press briefing that Beijing would firmly defend the legitimate and lawful rights of its scholars.
“China opposes politicizing education cooperation. What the U.S. did will damage its own image and reputation,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said.
(This story has been updated with more information.)
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump and China’s Xi hold first call amid tariff and trade war
