US President Donald Trump announced on Monday through a message on his social network Truth that he had a telephone conversation with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jingping, during which they discussed trade relations, the war in Ukraine and the situation in Taiwan, as confirmed by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“The return of Taiwan to China is an integral part of the post-war international order. China and the United States have fought side by side against fascism and militarism. Given the current situation, it is even more important to jointly safeguard the victory of World War II,” the Chinese president noted during the phone call, according to the ministry.
The mention of Taiwan, a thorny issue for both countries, is the main difference between Trump’s statements and those of the Chinese authorities. While the occupant of the Oval Office does not mention the case of Taiwan in his publication, the Chinese ministry dedicates a couple of paragraphs to the situation of the islands. Trump assured during an interview earlier this month on CBS that Xi “knows the consequences” of military action in Taiwan.
The leader of the Asian giant added: “China played an important role in the victory of the Second World War. The United States understands the importance of the Taiwan issue for China.”
China considers Taiwan part of its territory. On other occasions it has not ruled out the use of force and often carries out military maneuvers near the islands. China’s claims to Taiwan clash with those of Japan. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said a few weeks ago that a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could trigger a military response from Tokyo.
Relations between the leaders of the United States and China appear to have normalized after the tension experienced at the end of October. Trump then accused China of employing “sinister and hostile” tactics after Beijing decided to tighten control over rare earth materials for technology.
“I just had an excellent telephone conversation with Chinese President Xi,” the American tycoon wrote through a post on his social network Truth, in which he confirmed that he will travel to Beijing next April. “He will be my guest on a state visit to the United States later this year,” he added.
The ups and downs between the United States and China have been constant in recent years. Trump boasts of the good relations he has with President Xi, but also recognizes that it is not easy to negotiate with him. “We talked about various topics, such as Ukraine/Russia, fentanyl, soybeans and other agricultural products, etc. We have concluded a positive and very important agreement for our great farmers, and it will continue to get better,” he wrote on the platform where he expresses his views after being kicked out of X five years ago.
This is the first public communication between the two leaders since the in-person meeting held on October 29 in South Korea. In that meeting, held in the city of Busan, the two powers put aside the differences they had maintained since the occupant of the White House imposed indiscriminate tariffs on everyone in April. And they reached an agreement to avoid trade tensions.
Beijing delayed restrictions on exports of rare earths for a year and Washington reduced tariffs on Chinese products for trafficking fentanyl to 10%. “I think it was an incredible meeting,” the New York politician said. The United States also suspended mutual tariffs of 24% for another year. These had already been suspended for 90 days in May following the truce between the United States and China, and were extended to August. The break was due to expire on November 10, but is now extended for a further year. Beijing also undertakes to suspend for one year the “retaliatory measures” taken against these taxes.
