Trump and China’s Xi Jinping discuss trade, Taiwan, Ukraine in call : NPR

President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping shake hands in Busan, South Korea, on October 30.

Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

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Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

President Trump and China’s top leader Xi Jinping held a phone call Monday, the latest in a series of diplomatic and trade negotiations between the two countries over tariffs and technology export restrictions.

In an article about the call on Truth Social, President Trump said, “We discussed many topics, including Ukraine/Russia, fentanyl, soy and other agricultural products, etc. We have reached a good and very important deal for our big farmers – and it will only get better. Our relationship with China is extremely strong!

A statement from China’s state news agency said the two countries should “maintain the momentum, continue to move in the right direction on the basis of equality, respect and mutual benefit, lengthen the list of cooperation and shorten the list of problems, so as to achieve more positive progress, create new space for China-US cooperation and bring more benefits to the people of the two countries and the world.”

Trump and Xi last spoke by phone in September. They met last month in Busan, South Korea, after which the United States halved the 20% tariff imposed to curb fentanyl flows. In total, average customs duties on Chinese products remain slightly below 50%.

“Since then, China-US relations have generally maintained a stable and positive trajectory, and this is welcomed by the two countries and the international community as a whole,” the Chinese statement said on Monday.

In October, U.S. and China trade negotiating teams reached a rough trade consensus that saw the United States abruptly reduce threatened tariffs on Chinese goods by another 100%. China has suspended a planned export control regime on many refined rare earth materials, for which it has developed a near bottleneck.

But the pause on export controls only lasts a year, after which China could still bar U.S. access to these materials that have become small but essential components in many consumer and defense technologies, including automobiles, fighter jets and semiconductor chip manufacturing.

In his article on Truth Social, the president said that Xi had invited him to visit Beijing in April and that he had invited Xi to a state visit to Washington later next year. “We agreed that it was important that we communicate often, which I look forward to doing,” Trump said.

According to the Chinese statement, the two leaders also discussed on Monday China’s claims to Taiwan, a democratic island that China considers part of its territory and wishes to one day control; and they discussed Ukraine, which China has repeatedly urged to sign a peace deal with Russia, one of China’s main trading partners.

During the call, Xi stressed that “Taiwan’s return to China is an important part of the post-war international order,” according to the Chinese statement.

China is currently in a diplomatic standoff with Japan, whose new prime minister previously said a Chinese invasion of Taiwan would pose an “existential threat” to Japan.

Chinese diplomats complained to the United Nations, calling the statement a “serious violation,” and halted some tour group flights to Japan, which brings in billions of dollars a year from Chinese tourism.