CNN —

For months, President Donald Trump has suggested his personal relationship with China’s Xi Jinping will be what unlocks the world’s most consequential trade dispute.

Yet he couldn’t get Xi on the telephone for weeks.

The long period of silence between the leaders will — at least in the White House’s telling — come to an end this week. A string of US officials have all but confirmed a call between Trump and Xi is imminent and could occur as early as Thursday, even though Beijing remains tight-lipped.

“I am afraid we don’t have comments for you right now,” a spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Washington said in response to questions about the forthcoming conversation.

The discrepancy in how each side was talking — or not talking — about the call ahead of time only underscored

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