President Donald Trump has told reporters that he called Chinese leader Xi Jinping to say “hey,” and see what he could do to help with North Korea, a surprising admission in light of US-Chinese tensions.

Trump was speaking at a media conference with Mike Pompeo in Hanoi, Vietnam at the end of his talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Thursday. A reporter from Global Times China asked what Trump expects China to do to mediate the US relationship with North Korea.

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“China has been very helpful. Pres. Xi is a great leader,” Trump said. “He’s a highly respected leader all over the world and especially in Asia and he’s helped us, Mike, I would say, that he’s helped us a lot, right?”

I actually called him just recently to say hey, you know, whatever you can do on this. But he’s been very helpful at the border, and he’s been very, very helpful, I think, with North Korea generally. Could he be a little more helpful? Probably, but but he’s been very helpful.

The Trump-Kim summit ended early on Wednesday with no deal made between the two countries.

Relations between the US and China have been tense, with both countries placing billions of dollars of tariffs on each other’s products. The US has accused Chinese phone manufacturer Huawei of being a national security threat, with the arrest of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou in December further straining relations.

China Trade Deal (and more) in advanced stages. Relationship between our two Countries is very strong. I have therefore agreed to delay U.S. tariff hikes. Let’s see what happens? — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 25, 2019

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