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.

Beijing has gained time to build up its own strengths by drawing out negotiations with the United States, using its chokehold over critical minerals.

While Donald Trump hailed the outcome of trade talks in London, Xi Jinping walked away with an understated strategic gain: a negotiating process that buys China time and helps defuse the threat of more harmful tariffs and technology curbs.