Xi holds call with Trump: Chinese state media

BEIJING (AFP): Chinese leader Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump discussed bilateral cooperation and the issue of Taiwan in a phone call on Monday, Beijing’s state news agency Xinhua reported.

Xi told Trump the two countries should “maintain momentum in ties”, according to Xinhua, after a meeting last month in South Korea where the two leaders sought to ease a blistering trade war.

Xinhua said Xi also “stressed that Taiwan’s return to China is an important part of the post-war international order”.

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

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

The tussle between Washington and Beijing, which encompasses everything from rare earths to soybeans and port fees, has rocked markets and gummed up supply chains for months.

Xi told Trump on Monday 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”, Xinhua reported.

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.