President Donald Trump has become increasingly anxious about speaking with China’s President Xi Jinping about resolving their fraught trade relations. As recently as yesterday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that a U.S.-China “Leaders summit” would take place very soon, but nothing about a phone call has been confirmed as yet. Politico reported yesterday that an “obsessed” and frustrated Trump thinks that a personal talk with Xi is the only way he can settle the trade dispute that worsened after he angrily accused China on May 30 of violating the mid-May Geneva Consensus in which both governments agreed to lower tariffs and China said it would remove retaliatory measures it had taken. Things went downhill from there.
At 2:30 am this morning, Trump posted on Truth Social, “I like President Xi of China, always have and always will, but he is VERY TOUGH AND EXTREMELY HARD TO MAKE A DEAL WITH!”
Pressure on the administration is growing because China’s ban on exporting critical minerals to the U.S. is causing real problems in the auto, electronics and even munitions industries which rely on them. Some auto companies warn that the looming shortages of rare earth magnets, crucial for auto construction, could force them to halt production and close factories if nothing changes soon. Spokespersons for China’s Foreign Ministry have addressed the trade issue more than once, refuting Trump’s accusations of Chinese wrongdoing and charging the U.S. with using coercive measures to trample on China’s legitimate interests.
