Senior Chinese diplomat Yang Jiechi spoke with US secretary of State Mike Pompeo by phone on Saturday. The talk fell on the same day that US President Trump demanded big changes in trade with China. Omar Khan has the story.

Yang and Pompeo discussed the ongoing trade dispute, and agreed to keep communication open. The phone call follows talks that ended on Friday in Beijing between economic officials from both countries. No detailed information was disclosed after the meeting, except that the two sides would keep an open dialogue. But US president Donald Trump played hard ball on Saturday, while speaking at a rally in Ohio. He told supporters that the trade deficit must be reduced.

DONALD TRUMP US PRESIDENT "My group just got back from China. We're going to have to rework trade with China because that's been a one way street for decades and we just can't have it happen. "

The US wants China to reduce the trade deficit by 200-billion US dollars by 2020. Meanwhile, China wants the US to relax restrictions on selling high-tech goods to China, and to treat Chinese companies fairly.

HUA CHUNYING, SPOKESWOMAN CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY "We welcome negotiations and consultation, but it must be on the basis of equal footing and mutual respect, and there should be a win-win result."

That was also emphasized by US billionaire Warren Buffett. Addressing a shareholder's meeting on Friday, he didn't necessarily see the trade deficit as a bad thing.

"We have a lot of common interests, and like any two big economic entities, there are times when there'll be tensions, but it is a win-win situation."

And though the two-day meeting yielded no big breakthroughs, China believes it sent positive signals, as the two sides began to inch their way back to an open and fair playing field. Omar Khan, CGTN.