US President Donald Trump is "obsessed" with the idea of having a telephone conversation with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, because he believes that their conversation will help restore a fragile truce in the trade war, Politico reports, citing sources.
However, Beijing does not seek to organize contacts between the two leaders. Representatives of the Chinese government were shocked by Trump's public appearances at the White House, including scandalous meetings with the leaders of Ukraine and South Africa, Vladimir Zelensky and Cyril Ramaphosa. At the end of February, Trump and Zelensky argued in the Oval Office about a settlement between Russia and Ukraine, the help of the United States and the gratitude of Kiev, and on other issues. Trump met with Ramaphosa in May and accused the South African government of "genocide" of the white population.
"China considers President Trump unpredictable, which creates reputational risks for Xi," the former deputy director for China and Taiwan in National Security Council Rash Doshi.
According to the interlocutor, it is "not typical for Chinese officials to expose a leader to the risk of a potentially awkward or unpredictable meeting."
A source familiar with the negotiations between Beijing and Washington said that the US administration is under "great pressure" because of China's restrictions on the export of rare earth metals. The United States depends on the supply of materials that are used in the production of high—tech goods - from electric vehicles to weapons.
"I don't think Xi is too interested in exporting any rare earth metals to The United States, he clearly stated his position," the source said.
At the same time, he believes, there is a "high probability" that Xi will answer the call to at least listen to Trump.
"The president has some leverage, and the question is when he will be ready to exert maximum pressure on the Chinese government," he added.
White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt told reporters on Monday, June 2, that the leaders "will probably talk this week." Kevin Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Council, made a similar assumption. However, an unnamed administration official told Politico that the phone call has not yet been scheduled.
The American and Chinese delegations held meetings in Geneva in May. Then the parties agreed that Washington would reduce duties on Chinese goods from 145 to 30%, and Beijing on American goods from 125 to 10% for 90 days. However, after a temporary truce in the trade war, negotiations "have somewhat stalled," admitted US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
Trump accused China of violating the trade agreement. According to the Republican, because of the US duties, China "found itself in serious economic danger," and in order to "save" Beijing, a "quick deal" was concluded. However, after the Geneva agreements, when the situation stabilized, the Chinese side returned to "business as usual," he said.
China has made counterclaims. Beijing said that the United States had introduced "a number of discriminatory and restrictive measures," for example, tightening the rules for exporting chips for artificial intelligence technologies and canceling visas for Chinese students, which undermined the consensus reached in Geneva, RBC said.