US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping may hold talks later this week, according to a senior White House official who spoke to CNBC on Monday on condition of anonymity. While a phone call is not likely for today, he said it could take place “very soon.”

The expected conversation comes at a time of heated confrontations between Washington and Beijing that threaten to blow up the agreement reached just weeks ago.

The US-China trade relationship, considered strategic for both sides, was at a tipping point in April when Trump imposed universal tariffs of up to 145% on Chinese goods, prompting an immediate response from Beijing with equally severe countermeasures. The two sides temporarily agreed to a 90-day de-escalation of the measures, following negotiations in Geneva in mid-May.

However, this fragile ceasefire appears to be falling apart. The US accuses China of deliberately delaying exports of critical raw materials, while for its part Beijing attacks Washington for its warnings about avoiding Chinese semiconductors. A spokesman for China’s Ministry of Commerce called the US stance “unilaterally provoking new economic and trade tensions”, underlining that uncertainty is growing in bilateral relations.