The U.S. Treasury Secretary, Scott Pisisent, has expressed his belief that President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping will engage in discussions soon to address trade issues, particularly a dispute regarding rare earth metals.
On Friday, Trump accused China of violating an agreement with the U.S. that entailed mutual elimination of tariffs and trade barriers on rare earth metals.
During an interview on CBS’s “Face the Nation” this Sunday, Pisisent stated, “What China is doing is withholding essential products needed for industrial supply chains in India and Europe. This is not the behavior of a reliable partner.”
He went on to add, “I am confident that this issue will be resolved when President Trump speaks with President Xi. However, the reality is they are withholding certain products that they agreed to deliver under our deal. It could be an oversight on China’s part or perhaps intentional; we will see once the President talks to Xi.”
Trump mentioned on Friday that he is optimistic about a forthcoming conversation with Xi. Notably, China revealed in April that the two leaders had not recently communicated.
When asked whether a call between the two leaders had been scheduled, Pisisent replied, “I think we will see something very soon.