"President Donald J. Trump and President Xi Jinping of China had a lengthy telephone conversation on Thursday evening. The two leaders discussed numerous topics and President Trump agreed, at the request of President Xi, to honor our ‘one China’ policy," the statement says.
According to the White House, the telephone conversation was "extremely cordial" and both Trump and the Chinese leader exchanged invitations to meet in their respective countries.
Trump has criticized China for its "unfair" trade practices and has threatened to impose a high blanket tariff on Chinese goods. However, in January, the Chinese Commerce Ministry said that China wanted to promote "stable and healthy" trade relations with Trump’s administration.
Trump also said in a January interview with The Wall Street Journal that the "One China" policy on Taiwan was up for negotiations and he was not fully committed to it. The United States, along with many other countries, does not recognize Taiwan as a sovereign nation and sticks officially to the "One China" position, but has kept informal relations with the island after severing diplomatic ties with it in 1979.
