President Donald Trump touted relations with Beijing as “extremely strong” following a call with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who told Trump that Taiwan’s “return to China” is a key part of the country’s vision for the world order.
The call, not previously flagged by either country, came weeks after the two leaders met in South Korea, where they agreed to a framework for a trade deal that has yet to be finalised.
China is locked in its biggest diplomatic crisis for years with US ally Japan.
This month, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said any Chinese attack on democratically governed Taiwan could trigger a Japanese military response.
“China and the United States once fought side by side against fascism and militarism, and should now work together to safeguard the outcomes of World War II,” Xi was quoted as saying by China’s Xinhua news agency, adding that “Taiwan’s return to China is an integral part of the post-war international order”.
Trump made no mention of Taiwan in a Truth Social post on his “very good” call with Xi, which he said covered many topics, including Ukraine, fentanyl, and US farm products.
“Our relationship with China is extremely strong! This call was a follow up to our highly successful meeting in South Korea, three weeks ago.
“Since then, there has been significant progress on both sides in keeping our agreements current and accurate,” Trump said on Monday.
He said he accepted Xi’s invitation to visit Beijing in April, and had invited Xi for a state visit to the United States later in the year.
Following months of trade tensions triggered by Trump’s tariffs, Xi and Trump reached the framework agreement in South Korea on Oct 30.
Washington agreed not to impose 100% tariffs on Chinese imports and China would hold off on an export licensing regime for crucial rare earths minerals and magnets.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said he hoped a final deal on rare earths would be done by Thanksgiving.
China has resumed purchases of US soybeans and halted its expanded curbs on rare earths exports.
Xi said that China-US ties have stabilised and improved since the meeting.
“The facts again show that cooperation benefits both sides while confrontation hurts both,” he told Trump, urging the two countries to maintain positive momentum. — Reuters
