BEIJING_President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke by phone on Thursday evening for the first time since Trump's Jan. 20 inauguration, marking a significant de-escalation in the White House's aggressive posture toward the world's second-largest economy.
Trump told Xi that he would honor the "One China" policy, according to a Thursday statement by the White House Press Office, referring to a diplomatic understanding that the U.S. will not challenge Beijing's assertion of sovereignty over Taiwan, a self-governing island that Beijing views as a breakaway province. "The two leaders discussed numerous topics and President Trump agreed, at the request of President Xi, to honor our 'One China' policy," the statement said.
"The phone call between President Trump and President Xi was extremely cordial, and both leaders extended best wishes to the people of each others' countries," the statement added. "They also extended invitations to meet in their respective countries."
President-elect Trump spoke with Taiwan's president Tsai Ing-wen on Dec. 2, soon after his election win, breaking with decades of diplomatic precedent and drawing a harsh rebuke from China's foreign ministry. No U.S. president or president-elect is believed to have spoken directly with a Taiwanese leader since the U.S. recognized the mainland government and cut ties with Taiwan in 1979.
China's official New China News Agency said in a commentary on Friday morning that U.S-China relations "will stay strong and thrive in a long term even though there have been many talks of uncertainties under the presidency of Donald Trump."
