Washington DC - President Donald Trump complained about his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, on social media as Beijing called on the World Trade Organization to respond forcefully to the US-led tariff war.

"I like President XI of China, always have, and always will, but he is VERY TOUGH, AND EXTREMELY HARD TO MAKE A DEAL WITH!" Trump wrote in a late-night post on Truth Social.

The statement comes after White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced over the weekend that a meeting between Xi and Trump is expected within days.

Such a meeting would be the first of its kind since Trump returned to office in January, and would come amid sky-high tensions between the two nations, largely spurred by Washington's tariff assault.

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Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Tuesday welcomed David Perdue, the new US ambassador to China, into his role, and expressed hope that relations could improve over the coming months.

"It is regrettable that the United States has since introduced a series of negative measures for groundless reasons, infringing upon China's legitimate rights and interests," Wang said in a statement.

"Equality and respect are the prerequisites for exchanges between the two sides, and dialogue and cooperation are the only correct choice."

Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs skyrocketed levies on Chinese imports to the US to the heights of 145% in April, spurring a significant response from Beijing.

The two countries have since agreed on a temporary truce, with the US and China taxing each other's goods at 30% and 10% respectively – for now.

But with trade tensions rising again, China's Commerce Minister Wang Wentao met with WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on Tuesday to call for a stronger response to "certain member's arbitrarily imposing tariffs."

"The WTO should strengthen oversight of unilateral tariffs and provide objective, neutral policy recommendations," a Wang said, per the Global Times.