Trump reaffirms one-China policy in surprise phone call with Xi Jinping
Trump made the pledge at Xi’s request, White House says
US President Donald Trump has reaffirmed the one-China policy in his first phone call with China’s President Xi Jinping after taking office.
In the Friday morning call that was not announced beforehand, Trump told Xi that he fully respected the importance of the one-China policy and that his administration would adhere to it, the state-run China Central Television reported.
Trump made the pledge at Xi’s request, according to the White House.
“The two leaders discussed numerous topics and President Trump agreed, at the request of President Xi, to honour our one-China policy,” the White House said in a statement.
The one-China policy, which recognises that Taiwan is part of China, has been seen as the basis of Sino-US relations since the 1970s.
Friday morning’s call was the first between the two leaders since Trump was sworn in as US president in late January.