Xi tells Trump Taiwan is ‘most important’ issue in China-US ties in phone call

China’s leader Xi Jinping spoke with US President Donald Trump by phone on Wednesday, just hours after a video call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

According to the Chinese readout, Xi told Trump that the Taiwan question is the “most important” issue in China-US relations, stressing that the island is Chinese territory and that Beijing will never allow it to be separated.

Xi said China must safeguard its national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and urged Washington to handle arms sales to Taiwan with “extreme caution”.

Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China to be reunited by force if necessary. Most countries, including the US, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state, but Washington is opposed to any attempt to take the self-governed island by force and is committed to supplying it with weapons.

Trump, for his part, said he values China’s concerns on Taiwan and is willing to maintain communication with Beijing to keep bilateral ties stable, the readout added.

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While Beijing’s readout emphasised Taiwan, Trump said in a social media post that the two leaders also discussed the protracted war between Russia and Ukraine. Since taking office in January last year, Trump has repeatedly sought to position himself as a broker in efforts to end the conflict, which began in 2022.

South China Morning Post