By Emel Akan
Contributing Writer
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump confirmed on Truth Social that he spoke with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Thursday morning, announcing that the issue of China’s export restrictions on rare earths has been resolved.
Trump described the conversation as “very good,” noting that the two leaders discussed “some of the intricacies” of the trade deal recently reached in Geneva in May.
“There should no longer be any questions respecting the complexity of rare earth products. Our respective teams will be meeting shortly at a location to be determined,” Trump announced after the call, which lasted an hour and a half.
He said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will attend the negotiations.
Trump also announced that Xi has extended an invitation for him and the first lady to visit China.
“This is something that we both look forward to doing,” Trump said, adding that the White House would announce the timing and location of the negotiating teams’ meeting.
“The conversation was focused almost entirely on trade. Nothing was discussed concerning Russia/Ukraine, or Iran,” Trump wrote.
The conversation occurred against the backdrop of Trump’s growing frustration with stalled trade talks between Washington and Beijing.
On Wednesday, Trump wrote on Truth Social that Xi was “extremely hard to make a deal with,” after aides said Trump was expected to have a trade negotiations call with Xi this week.
Trump accused Xi of being “very tough, and extremely hard to make a deal with.”
Trade officials from both countries met in Geneva and announced a 90-day agreement on May 12, during which the high tariffs and retaliatory measures were supposed to be rolled back as further trade negotiations took place.
On May 30, Trump, however, revealed that the Chinese communist regime had “violated” the agreement by “slow-rolling” the critical mineral export restrictions it had agreed to roll back.
China dominates the critical minerals market by processing and refining both its own raw materials and those imported from other countries. This gives Beijing significant control over the global supply chain for these essential resources.
Beijing initially denied violating the trade agreement on May 30. The regime escalated its rhetoric on Monday, when a spokesperson for the commerce ministry issued a statement through state media attacking Washington’s decision to revoke visas for Chinese students with ties to the Chinese Communist Party. It also criticized U.S. warnings of potential penalties over the use of Huawei’s artificial intelligence chips, which the United States believed were created in violation of U.S. export controls.
Trump initially imposed substantial tariff increases on China “based on the lack of respect that China has shown to the world’s markets.” However, in May, he announced a temporary reduction of tariffs on Chinese goods from 145% to 30%.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office alongside German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Trump responded to questions about his call with Xi.
He said Xi also accepted an invitation to visit the United States.
“He invited me to China, and I invited him here. We both accepted. So I‘ll be going there with the first lady at a certain point, and he’ll be coming here, hopefully, with the first lady of China,” Trump told reporters.
When asked about whether he supports the new Senate bill introduced by Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., that includes sanctioning China for supporting Russia’s war effort, Trump responded, “Yes.”
“But they‘ll be guided by me. That’s the way it’s supposed to be,” Trump said. “I have to see but they’re waiting for me to decide on what to do, and I’ll know maybe very soon. It’s a harsh bill.”
Catherine Yang contributed to this report.
