President Donald Trump appears to be lowering the bar on trade negotiations with China as he complained that President Xi Jinping is “hard to make a deal with.”

The president softened his tone in a Truth Social post shared in the early hours of Wednesday. “I like President XI of China, always have, and always will,” Trump said. “But he is VERY TOUGH, AND EXTREMELY HARD TO MAKE A DEAL WITH!!!”

Last week Trump accused China of violating the terms of the agreement between the two countries. “So much for being Mr. NICE GUY!” he said.

But his latest approach comes as the president is “obsessed with having a call with Xi,” a person familiar with the talks told Politico. The leaders of the world’s two largest economies are yet to speak on the phone to thrash out a deal.

Meanwhile, a former Trump official who remains close to the White House told Politico that the president “feels like a call between principals is a way to cut through a lot of this noise, and get right to the heart of the matter.”

Obama’s assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Daniel Russel, told Politico that China “has a sharp nose for weakness, and for all his bravado, Trump is signaling eagerness, even desperation, to cut a direct deal with Xi.”

“That only stiffens Beijing’s resolve,” he added.

The trade war between the two countries has resumed after Trump accused China of violating the terms of the agreement. Beijing hit back Monday, accusing the U.S. of doing the same. The Trump administration revealed plans to revoke the visas of Chinese students and attempts to curb China’s access to the most advanced computer chips, which did not go down well.

“These practices seriously violate the consensus” of what was agreed in talks in Geneva two weeks ago, the Commerce Ministry said.

Now the talks are at somewhat of a standstill.

Trump believes he can break through to the Chinese leader, though the U.S. is trying to change a trade relationship worth $600 billion and doing so without losing too much political capital in the U.S.

The administration is “under a lot of pressure” following China’s critical minerals blockade, which blocks U.S. access to essential components in auto and electronics manufacturing as well as the production of munitions, a person familiar with the conversations told Politico.

Trump reduced tariffs on China last month from 145 percent to 30 percent.