China's Xi presses Trump on Taiwan, says most important issue in China-U.S. relations

President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping of China had a lengthy phone call Wednesday during which, Trump said, the two leaders discussed a wide range of issues -- including Iran, the war in Ukraine and soybeans -- before Trump's visit to China this spring.

But the call, which Trump enthusiastically described as "excellent" and "long and thorough," included a warning from Xi about an issue that Trump has tiptoed around: the future of Taiwan.

In Trump's description of the call, posted to his Truth Social account, he listed the issue of Taiwan among more than a half-dozen topics -- "all very positive" -- that the two had discussed. The call lasted almost two hours, according to people familiar with it. Trump said they discussed his trip to China for a high-stakes summit in April, as the two leaders have sought to ease tensions in recent months after engaging in an aggressive trade war shortly after Trump took office. The two last met in October in South Korea, where they agreed to a yearlong trade truce. The two did not discuss Taiwan during that meeting.


"The relationship with China, and my personal relationship with President Xi, is an extremely good one, and we both realize how important it is to keep it that way," Trump wrote in the social media post. "I believe that there will be many positive results achieved over the next three years of my Presidency having to do with President Xi, and the People's Republic of China!"

But a description of the call from Chinese state media was much more forceful, and suggested that the issue of Taiwan was front and center.

Also read: Trump speaks to Xi hours after China–Russia call, says talks were ‘very positive'

Taiwan: important issue in China-US ties

Xi told Trump that the American position on Taiwan was "the most important issue in China-U.S. relations," it said, and asserted that China "will never allow Taiwan to be separated from China."

"The U.S. must handle arms sales to Taiwan with extreme caution," Xi told Trump, according to the description in Chinese state media.

It is not unusual for China to include the issue of Taiwan among its priorities in diplomatic talks with the United States, but the warning comes just months after the U.S. in December approved an arms package for Taiwan valued at more than $11 billion.

Ryan Hass, the director of the John L. Thornton China Center at the Brookings Institution, said that Xi's statement was notably "pointed and sharp." He said it was clear that Xi "wants to put down a marker now, so that he can show he's on the case when it comes to Taiwan, both domestically and to President Trump."

"He's trying to set the table for telling President Trump, 'When you come in April, be ready to have a serious, sit-down conversation about Taiwan because it's very important to me,'" Hass said.

The United States recognizes a single Chinese government in Beijing under a "One China" policy, and maintains formal diplomatic ties with the mainland, but it acknowledges only China's belief that Taiwan is part of China and maintains informal ties with Taiwan's government.

A White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomatic matters, said that the U.S. position on Taiwan has not changed.

Also read: US-Taiwan relations are 'rock solid,' president Ching-te says after Trump-Xi call

Trump's invasion threat to sovereign nations

But Xi's assertion also comes as Trump has threatened to invade and take over sovereign nations, which has raised concerns among experts that he would be unlikely to stop his allies and adversaries from pursuing their own such endeavors.

And Trump has made it clear that he is willing to walk a delicate line on Taiwan as not to upset Beijing; last year, the administration blocked Taiwan's leader from stopping in New York to avoid offending China as it sought to broker a trade deal and a summit between Trump and Xi.

In an interview with The New York Times last month, Trump boasted about how Xi was "impressed" with his incursion into Venezuela to capture its leader and seize its oil.

When asked if Xi could look to the operation as a precedent to invade and control Taiwan, Trump said that China didn't face the same threat -- such as drug dealers pouring into its country, as Trump has claimed -- as the U.S. did from Venezuela.

But presented with the idea that Taiwan could be seen as a threat to China, Trump then conceded that Taiwan "was a source of pride" for Xi.

"He considers it to be a part of China, and that's up to him, what he's going to be doing," Trump said. "But, you know, I've expressed to him that I would be very unhappy if he did that, and I don't think he'll do that. I hope he doesn't do that."

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.