The rare leader-to-leader call confronted weeks of brewing trade tensions and a battle over critical minerals but left key issues to further talks.

Trump said in his Truth Social post that the hour-and-a-half conversation phone call was “focused almost entirely on TRADE,” while the Chinese readout singled out Xi’s stern warning on Taiwan – the reddest of lines for Beijing – and the issue of Chinese student visas.

President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping held a phone call Thursday amid ongoing tensions between the two superpowers — with a new in-person meeting planned soon.