US President Donald Trump’s may speak to China’s President Xi Jinping “very soon”, helping to break the impasse in trade talks between the world’s two biggest economies.
“I’m confident that when President Trump and Party Chairman Xi have a call that this will be ironed out,” US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said, adding that China was “withholding some of the products that they agreed to release during our agreement”.
“I believe we will see something very soon,” Bessent said.
Trump on Friday accused Beijing of violating a bilateral deal reached last month in Geneva to lower inordinately high tariffs that the two giants had slapped on each other, a pause scheduled to last 90 days. The agreement was negotiated by Bessent and Vice-Premier He Lifeng but details were not released.
Trump first teased last month, shortly after the Geneva agreement was announced, that a call with Xi was imminent – only to see a fortnight pass without contact. Trump also said in April that he had spoken with Xi, a claim the Chinese denied.
Analysts said better communication is badly needed between the world’s two largest economies given the enormous stakes in a stand-off that has seen financial markets swing wildly. The US and China account for two-fifths of global output, while their two-way trade last year topped US$660 billion.
“The fragile US-China detente post Geneva is looking increasingly in jeopardy, adding urgency on both sides to restore a modicum of stability,” said Jeremy Chan, a senior analyst.
Chan, a former diplomat in the US consulate in Shenyang, said the obstacles that have prevented a Xi-Trump call from taking place still remain. “And Trump’s strategy of pressuring Xi to the negotiating table so far has proved misguided. So something has got to give.”
Trump, not known for nuanced, deliberative policies, has been looking for quick results from his dealings with China. Heaping on more pressure, he enacted 25 percent tariffs on Apple if it does not build iPhones in the US.
“The threat against Apple underscores that one of Trump’s key objectives with tariffs is to promote the on-shoring of US manufacturing. And of course, iPhone supply chains are highly concentrated in China,” said another analyst.
He said it appears that Trump de-escalated the tariff dispute in Geneva out of concern that ongoing tension and political blowback at home could jeopardise his massive tax-cutting legislation.
If Trump’s “big beautiful bill” to slash taxes is passed in July, however, it will remove that constraint on Trump, potentially leading him to ramp up pressure – and tariff levels – on China again.
“We think Beijing is keen to find a path that lowers trade tensions,” Hirson said. “But if Beijing has no confidence in Trump’s commitments, it will view concessions as simply giving up negotiating leverage.”
Other members of Trump’s inner circle also spoke on Sunday about US displeasure with China’s negotiating pace, even as they hinted that a Xi-Trump call might be imminent.