Mr. Trump said in a post on Truth Social that his call with Xi Jinping, China’s top leader, had focused entirely on the trade relationship between the nations, which has soured in recent months in a dispute over the export of critical minerals used in an array of industries.

President Donald Trump held a long-awaited phone call Thursday with China’s Xi Jinping, a person familiar with the matter said, as the two leaders tussle over trade policy.

President Trump railed against Xi Jinping in a late-night social media post days ahead of their planned call, complaining that the Chinese leader is “extremely hard to make a deal with” as trade talks stall.