Trump, Xi Talk Taiwan In Phone Call After Japan PM’s Remarks; Trade, Ukraine Also Discussed

US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping talk as they leave after a bilateral meeting at Gimhae International Airport, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, in Busan, South Korea. (IMAGE: REUTERS)

US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed Taiwan during a telephone call on Monday morning, weeks after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested that Tokyo could intervene militarily in the event of an attack on the island.

Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said Xi told Trump that Taiwan’s “return to China is an important component” of the world order. He also appeared to remind the US President that China and the United States, which fought on the same side during World War Two, should “jointly safeguard the victorious outcome of World War II.”

During World War Two, the United States and China fought as allies against Imperial Japan, with Washington providing military aid, training and supplies to Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalist government under the Lend-Lease programme. US forces operated in China through the “China–Burma–India” theatre, supporting Chinese troops, flying supply missions over the Himalayas and conducting bombing campaigns against Japanese positions.

While the United States does not formally recognise Taiwan’s claim to statehood, Washington remains the island’s most significant security partner and arms supplier. China claims democratic Taiwan as part of its territory and has threatened to use force to bring the self-ruled island under its control.

Xi also told him that Taiwan’s return to mainland China is “an important part of the post-war international order,” according to China’s official news agency Xinhua.

A White House official confirmed that the call happened on Monday morning but offered no details of the call.

Trade And Ukraine

The two leaders also discussed trade, but the Chinese statement did not reveal any concrete agreements on matters such as purchases of American soybeans.

They also discussed the war in Ukraine as American and Ukrainian officials meet in Switzerland’s Geneva to discuss a plan put forward by US President Donald Trump to end the conflict there.

Officials from both nations sought on Monday to narrow the gaps between them over the plan, after agreeing to modify a US proposal that Kyiv and its European allies saw as a Kremlin wish list.

In a joint statement, Washington and Kyiv said they had drafted a “refined peace framework” after talks in Geneva on Sunday.