** Australian lithium miners' shares fall following a call between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to discuss rare earth minerals

** Lithium miners had rallied in the previous session after automakers flagged risks from China's rare-earth export curbs

** Pilbara Minerals PLS.AX and Liontown Resources LTR.AX fall 6.1% and 4.6%, respectively

** Arizona Lithium AZL.AX and Iluka Resources ILU.AX retreat 8.3% and 4% each

** PLS, LTR and ILU among top pct losers on the ASX 200 benchmark index .AXJO, which is down 0.1%

** YTD - PLS, ILU, AZL down nearly 42%, 25%, 56%, respectively; LTR up about 17%

(Reporting by John Biju in Bengaluru)

((John.Biju@thomsonreuters.com;))