Donald Trump plans phone call to Xi Jinping ‘very soon’ – and says China will get tough over fentanyl
- China wants to follow through quickly on stemming flow of opioid to US, he says
- Unexpected meeting between the two countries’ top diplomats Yang Jiechi and Mike Pompeo was ‘a very good conversation’
US President Donald Trump said he would speak to his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping “very soon” as Beijing warned it would retaliate if Washington continued imposing tariffs on Chinese products.
Adopting an upbeat tone on Thursday, Trump said that this month’s most recent talks between the two nations’ trade negotiators had been “productive”, with Beijing hoping to reach a deal with the United States and vowing to crack down on the flow of the deadly opioid fentanyl from China into the US.
“They want to follow through very quickly [on fentanyl],” Trump said. “This was part of the conversation that we had. They had a special representative actually come over and talk to us – a different group – and a message to me, a very strong message to me. They want to start doing that very quickly.”
Asked whether he had spoken to Xi directly, Trump said: “I will speak to him. We have a call scheduled soon – [with] President Xi.”