U.S. and Chinese officials did not comment, leaving the purpose of the outreach and any next steps unclear.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke by phone Nov. 24, according to Chinese state news agency Xinhua.

The topic of the discussion was unclear and the report did not contain further details.

The White House and Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The call comes after the world's two largest economies reached a trade truce last month that saw Washington lower tariffs on Chinese goods and Beijing remove certain restrictions on the export of rare earths.