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Trump had earlier cast doubt that he would adhere to the One-China policy but during his call to Xi he promised to do just that [Xinhua]
Xi Jinping told Trump that Beijing wants to “boost mutually beneficial cooperation with the United States in various fields such as trade and economy, investment, science and technology, energy, culture and infrastructure”.
A White House statement following the phone conversation said that Trump and Xi discussed the One-China policy, which has been at the center of a tense exchange of words between officials from both countries.
“President Trump agreed, at the request of President Xi, to honor our ‘One-China’ policy,” the statement said.
“They also extended invitations to meet in their respective countries. President Trump and President Xi look forward to further talks with very successful outcomes,” it added.
According to Chinese media, Xi told Trump that he appreciated Washington’s adherence to the one-China policy and reiterated how central it is to China-US relations.
Chinese media has been charged in its editorials calling Trump a “rookie” and warning him that any attempt to hinder the success of the One China policy would be “playing with fire” after the US president gave a series of interviews in which he indicated that the One-China policy may need to be modified with trade negotiations in mind.
“I fully understand the ‘one China’ policy, but I don’t know why we have to be bound by a ‘one China’ policy unless we make a deal with China having to do with other things, including trade,” Trump told Fox News in December.
China also strongly criticized Trump accepting a congratulatory phone call from Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-Wen.
US media had speculated that Trump’s phone conversation, unprecedented since 1979 when Washington implemented the One China policy in a bid to improve ties with Beijing, would anger the Chinese.
There has also been tension regarding the South China Sea dispute in recent weeks.
The BRICS Post with inputs from Agencies
