In phone call, Xi urges Trump to maintain China-US momentum, reiterates Taiwan stance

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday held a phone conversation with US President Donald Trump and told him that the two countries should “maintain momentum in ties” following their meeting last month in South Korea.

according to Beijing’s state news agency Xinhua, Xi also “stressed that Taiwan’s return to China is an important part of the post-war international order.”

The call comes after the world’s two largest economies reached a trade truce last month that saw Washington lower tariffs on Chinese goods and Beijing remove certain restrictions on the export of rare earths.

Meanwhile, Trump said he held a “very good” phone call with President Xi during which the leaders discussed the war in Ukraine, fentanyl trafficking and a deal for farmers.

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Trump also said he had accepted Xi’s invitation to visit China in April and that Xi would visit the US later in the year.

China claims democratic Taiwan as part of its territory and has threatened to use force to bring the self-ruled island under its control.

President Trump and President Xi met in October for the first time since 2019, engaging in closely watched talks as the world’s top two economies remain locked in a trade war.

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The dispute between Washington and Beijing, covering issues from rare earths to soybeans and port fees, has disrupted markets and supply chains for months.

On Monday, Xi told Trump that the “successful” meeting in South Korea “helped calibrate the course and inject momentum into the steady forward movement of the giant ship of China–US relations,” according to Xinhua.

Since the meeting, China–US ties have “remained stable and have continued to improve, which has been widely welcomed by both countries and the international community,” Xi added.

With inputs from agencies