Trump-Xi conversation brings trade rest, supply-chain conflict remains unresolved

Trump-Xi conversation brings trade rest, supply-chain conflict remains unresolved

The fragile merchandise contract between the United States and China was initially withdrawn from the edge. US President Donald Trump had finally had his long-awaited phone call with the Chinese leader Xi Jinping, in which the two agreed to resume the trade talks that had stalled due to mutual allegations.

temporary postponement of tensions

The 90-minute conversation on Thursday brought a temporary relief in the escalating conflict between the two superpowers, but offered no clear way to solve their deeply rooted differences-especially through important supply chains, which both sides consider decisive for national security. US officials accused China of withdrawing his promise from the talks in May in Geneva to loosen export restrictions on rare earths. Beijing, on the other hand, angrily responded to the warnings of the United States to companies to take action against the use of the most advanced AI chips from China, to restrict the sale of chip design software to China and to "revoke aggressively" Chinese student visa.

positive meeting between the leaders

"After what has happened in the past ten days, I already consider this phone call as a profit," said Yun Sun, director of the China program in the Washington Stimson Center. "Both sides recognize that this was a positive interaction and that the two leaders can solve problems together. It is good for their image as a strong leader." While Trump repeatedly expressed his anticipation for the phone call and XI praised in a late social media post, XI has given himself a lot of time when deciding to use the phone.

imbalance of the negotiation power

"The Chinese state is significantly less pressure than its American counterpart to appear at the negotiating table," said Brian Wong, assistant professor at the University of Hong Kong. "The Chinese leadership entered the call from a position of political strength, even if the economic concerns are very real and alive." To speak Trump’s urge and the quick explanation that he had "regulated" the dispute over the exports of less frequently with XI, once again demonstrated how dominant the United States are in this sector.

delivery bottlenecks in the supply chain

Since the announcement of the export controls by China in April, the shipping of the minerals has been disrupted and has triggered the alarm in both Europe and America. In the Chinese press release, XI made it clear that China had "seriously and conscientiously" fulfilled the agreement, while US officials repeatedly accused Beijing of slowing the permits for the export of rare earths. WU Xinbo, director of the Center for American Studies at the Fudan University in Shanghai, pointed out that official regulations state that the approval of export licenses can take up to 45 working days.

The strategic maps of China in the trade war

ZHIQUN ZHU, director of the China Institute at the Bucknell University in Pennsylvania, commented bluntly and described China's dominance in rare earth as "one of the few cards" that has it in the trade war. "Why should the US government expect China to give up the map of the rare earth to delight the United States when China treats it as an enemy?" he asked in an article before the Trump Xi call.

future negotiations and challenges

After his conversation with XI, Trump announced that Minister of Commerce Howard Lutnick together with Finance Minister Scott Bessent and Trade Commissioner Jamieson Greer will enter into the next round of trade talks. This was assessed by observers in China and the USA as a sign that US export controls may now be for negotiation, which could represent a potential gain for Beijing.

"The US Ministry of Trade is responsible for export controls, which means that in the next phase the Chinese-American negotiations will probably go beyond tariffs and will also address topics such as export controls and entitlement sanctions," said WU. During his first term, Trump had lifted a ban on shops by American companies with the Chinese telecommunications giant ZTE at the request of XI to achieve a trade deal. But six years later, it will be a tough task in Washington to loosen the export controls towards China, where blocking Beijing has become advanced American technologies on a rare non -partisan topic.

Different perspectives on trade conflicts

Although the call signals temporary relief, it also shows the clear differences in the approach of the United States and China on their trade disputes: Trump tends to consider trading as an independent main problem, while Beijing often sees it in the context of the broader bilateral relationships. In a post for Truth Social, Trump said that the one -half hour phone call was "almost exclusively on trade", while in the Chinese press release XI a serious warning regarding Taiwan and the topic of the Chinese student visa.

Chinese leadership asked the United States to treat the Taiwan question carefully in order to prevent "Taiwan independence separatists" China and America in dangerous terrain of confrontational conflicts. "The contrast hits the core of the gap between China and the USA," said Wong.

concern about the situation of Chinese students

From Beijing's perspective, there are many worrying signs. Last weekend, US Defense Minister Pete Hegseth warned Asian allies that China is an "urgent" threat to Taiwan, a self-administered democracy that sees Beijing as his own and who wants to control it if necessary. Shortly before, Reuters had reported that Washington plans to increase weapon sales at Taipei to a level that exceeds the first four years of Trump's term in order to deter China's increasing military pressure.

Another concern for Beijing is the fate of Chinese students in the United States. Last week, Foreign Minister Macro Rubio, a well-known China-Hawk, announced a plan to revoke Visa for Chinese students, a step that triggered widespread concern and anger in China. The Chinese press release quoted Trump with the words that Chinese students are welcome in the United States. Trump later said to reporters in the Oval Office: "Chinese students come. No problem. No problem. It is an honor to have them here."

outlook on the relationship between China and the USA

Wu noticed that the adaptation of the visa policy will be an exam for Trump’s leadership. During her call, XI said to Trump that the two guides should "take over the tax and set the right course" for bilateral relationships, emphasizing that it was particularly important to avoid "different disorders and disorders". "This remark had a clear goal - they implied that there are people within Trump's team who try to disturb or undermine bilateral relationships, so it is now up to President Trump to show leadership qualities," said Wu.