Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday held talks with US President Donald Trump by phone, China’s state-run news agency Xinhua reported, as bilateral relations have been strained by trade disputes. The phone talks were at Trump’s request, Xinhua said, without providing further details about the leaders’ conversation. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The highly anticipated call comes amid accusations between Washington and Beijing in recent weeks over critical minerals in a dispute that threatens to tear up a fragile truce in the trade war between the two biggest economies. advertisement The countries struck a 90-day deal on May 12 to roll back some of the triple-digit, tit-for-tat tariffs they had placed on each other since Trump’s January inauguration. Though stocks rallied, the temporary deal did not address broader concerns that strain the bilateral relationship, from the illicit fentanyl trade to the status of democratically governed Taiwan and US complaints about China’s state-dominated, export-driven economic model. The talks are being closely watched by investors worried that a chaotic trade war could cut into corporate earnings and disrupt supply chains in the key months before the Christmas holiday shopping season. Trump’s tariffs are also the … Continue reading Trump, Xi hold talks amid strained US-China ties over trade disputes