BEIJING, May 23, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Two senior diplomats from the United States and China held a phone call on Thursday to discuss "issues of mutual interest", according to official statements.

The call between US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau and China's Executive Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu came during a thaw in Washington's bruising trade war with Beijing.

The two officials "discussed a wide range of issues of mutual interest, and agreed on the importance of keeping open lines of communication", US State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said in a statement on Thursday.

"They acknowledged the importance of the bilateral relationship to the people of both countries and the world," Bruce said.

In a statement published Friday morning in China, Beijing's foreign ministry said Ma and Landau had "exchanged views on China-US relations and important issues of common concern".

"The two sides agreed to continue to maintain communication," the statement said.

Neither statement gave further details of the discussion.