(Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump called China’s Xi Jinping tough and “extremely hard to make a deal with” on Wednesday, exposing frictions after the White House raised expectations for a long-awaited phone call between the two leaders this week.
“I like President Xi of China, always have, and always will, but he is VERY TOUGH, AND EXTREMELY HARD TO MAKE A DEAL WITH,” Trump said in a social media post.
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said on Monday Trump would likely speak with Xi this week to iron out differences over last month’s tariff agreement in Geneva, including the handling of critical minerals.
Trump’s early morning post on Truth Social did not bode well for a speedy resolution of their differences.
Leavitt was the third top Trump aide to forecast an imminent call between the leaders of the two largest global economies, but Xi has proved an elusive interlocutor. China said in April that the two leaders had not had a conversation recently.
A U.S. trade court last week ruled that Trump overstepped his authority in imposing the bulk of his tariffs on imports from China and other countries under an emergency powers act.
Less than 24 hours later, a federal appeals court reinstated the tariffs, saying it was pausing the trade court ruling to consider the government’s appeal.
(Reporting by Rishabh Jaiswal in Bengaluru; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Chizu Nomiyama)
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