In a statement, the White House said that the leaders of the world’s two largest economies had held a “lengthy” and “extremely cordial” telephone call in which “numerous topics” were discussed.
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What is clear is that Mr Trump and his team have made a decision to adhere to the “one China” policy, paving the way for bilateral ties to develop, though challenges remain. After becoming US President, Trump has spoken to almost two dozen world leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
One Weibo user noted “Trump’s daughter visits China’s embassy and wishes China a happy New Year!”.
As president-elect, Trump drew China’s ire in December when he accepted a call from Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, breaking with USA diplomatic tradition by becoming the first president since 1979 to speak with a Taiwanese leader. “It was a long talk.”.
And he’s getting more practice, hosting the Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe at the white house Friday.
The agency also quoted Mr Xi saying he “appreciated” Mr Trump for “stressing that the United States government adheres to the one-China policy“, which stresses there is only one China and that Taiwan is a province of that entity.
Beijing, for its part, says the Taiwan issue is a core national interest and the foundation of the US-China relationship, and that it is categorically not up for debate.
Trump angered Beijing in December by talking to the president of self-ruled Taiwan and saying the USA did not necessarily have to stick to the policy, questioning a position held for almost four decades.
“I believe that, that will all work out very well for everybody, China, Japan, the United States and everybody in the region”, he said. China considers Taiwan a wayward province with no right to formal diplomatic relations with any other country.
Beijing responded cautiously, expressing “serious concern” about Mr Trump’s position on the One China policy and urging the U.S. to maintain close ties with China.
Since taking office, Trump and members of his administration have been critical of China’s actions in the South China Sea.
“Frankly speaking, Trump has drawn fire on himself because of domestic issues such as immigration, and he has flared hostility against him overseas”, Yuan said. He said that the policy is the political basis of China-US relations.
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Pundits said the call came just days after media reports that new US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had said Washington should continue to uphold its one-China policy and support a peaceful and agreeable cross-strait outcome.
