Trump tweeted on Tuesday morning that he had a “very good telephone conversation” with the Chinese leader.

“We will be having an extended meeting next week at the G20 in Japan. Our respective teams will begin talks prior to our meeting,” the US president wrote, referring to the meeting of the 20 leading industrial powers in Osaka on June 28 and 29.

In a summary of the call, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV emphasised that Xi had agreed to the phone conversation at Trump’s request.

During the talk, Xi said he was willing to meet his US counterpart in Japan and said he “agreed that the two countries’ trade delegations should keep communications going to solve their differences”, according to CCTV.

“I am willing to meet the president during the G20 summit in Osaka to exchange opinions on the fundamental issues of the development of US-China relations,” Xi was quoted as saying.

“On the issue of economy and trade, the two sides should solve problems through equal dialogue, with the key being looking after each other’s reasonable concerns,” Xi reportedly told Trump, adding that Beijing hoped “the US can treat Chinese enterprises fairly”.

The “studiously neutral” framing of the call by Beijing suggested efforts to protect Xi “from being seen as too eager to reach a truce”, said Claire Reade, a former assistant United States trade representative for China affairs.

“The Chinese language also seems directed at subtly making the US the weaker party, coming to China to try to stop the tensions, with China graciously receiving the message,” said Reade, now senior counsel at Washington-based law firm Arnold & Porter.

The world’s two largest economies have been unable to resolve an impasse in talks and end the nearly year-long trade war.

Lighthizer says it’s ‘absolutely’ OK to use tariffs over non-trade issues

When negotiations unexpectedly broke down more than a month ago, Trump’s trade hawks accused Beijing of backtracking on previously made commitments.

The G20 meeting confirmed by Trump’s tweet has been anticipated. Suggesting efforts to lay the groundwork for upcoming talks, Chinese Vice-Foreign Minister Zheng Zeguang was in Washington over the weekend for talks with administration officials, Politico reported, citing a White House official.

Yet despite repeated public remarks over several weeks from Trump referring to the meeting, Beijing had not – until the presidents’ phone call – given any official indication that Xi intended to attend.

It was a “classic Chinese tactic” to delay the confirmation of meetings, Reade said.

Holding off on confirming a meeting can make the party asking to meet feel “as if they have achieved victory just by getting the meeting”, she said. “And the energy spent to get the meeting can presage the difficulty of solving the actual problem.”

China ‘to avoid Trump attempt to play HK protest card’ at talks with Xi

A source briefed on the arrangements for the meeting had earlier told the South China Morning Post that the parley could take the form of a face-to-face negotiation over dinner.

“It would be largely a replay of the summit in Argentina last December,” the source said.

The meeting’s confirmation came as the US' trade chief was called before lawmakers to defend Trump's trade policies, including his repeated threats to raise tariffs on around US$300 billion of Chinese goods.

United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told senators on the finance committee that imposing tariffs in itself possibly was not enough to force China to change its trading practices, but there was “no other option”.

Trump says ‘it doesn’t matter’ if Xi agrees to meeting at G20

“I know one thing that won’t work and that is talking to them,” Lighthizer said.

Also on Tuesday, USTR hearings into the impact that further tariffs on the remaining untaxed Chinese imports, including smartphones, would have on US companies entered their second day in Washington.

In written testimony, the Retail Industry Leaders Association, whose clients include Apple, argued that a fourth tranche of duties “would do greater harm to US economic interests. The three previous rounds of tariff actions have already proven this”.

Trump previously threatened to go ahead with the tariffs if Xi did not agree to the meeting in Osaka.

With the face-to-face conference now confirmed, the decision on those punitive duties could rest on how productive the presidential parley proves to be.

US Treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin recently told CNBC that Trump was “perfectly happy” to impose tariffs if the meeting did not go well.

US and China take their rivalry into more dangerous waters

As the trade talks have foundered, Trump has already raised tariffs on US$200 billion of Chinese imports to 25 per cent.

The US stock market rebounded after Trump's tweet, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average surging 353 points, or 1.35 per cent, on Tuesday.

Despite high expectations for the meeting, US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross had said last week that the two leaders would not strike a “definitive deal” to end their trade war if they sat down at G20.

At best, Ross told CNBC, any discussions would result in “some sort of agreement on a path forward”.