As U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping finalized in a phone call on the 25th Trump's visit to China in April and an invitation for Xi to visit the United States, analysis is emerging on the background of the call. Foreign media said that with China clashing with Japan over Taiwan, Xi took the unusual step of requesting a phone call with Trump to discuss the Taiwan issue, and analyzed that the intention was to secure clear U.S. support for the "one China" principle at home and isolate Taiwan.
According to China's state-run Xinhua News Agency and the White House on the 25th, the two sides held a phone call for about an hour that day. Xinhua reported, "Xi made clear China's principled position on the Taiwan issue and emphasized that Taiwan's return to China is an important component of the postwar international order," adding, "China and the United States fought together against fascism and militarism, and now must cooperate to safeguard the gains of victory in World War II." It went on to say that Trump "said he understands how important the Taiwan issue is to China."
Xinhua also reported regarding the Ukraine issue that "Xi emphasized that China supports all efforts for peace and hopes all parties will narrow their differences and promptly conclude a fair, sustainable and binding peace agreement to fundamentally resolve the crisis."
Foreign media analyzed that through this call, Xi intended to pull the U.S. position on the Taiwan issue toward China and persuade the United States to keep Japan in check. They also reported that Xi led the call and that "this is an unusual move."
According to a report by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on the 24th local time citing sources, Xi directly raised the Taiwan issue during the call with Trump. Because Taiwan and Ukraine are sensitive issues in U.S.-China relations, the two leaders have rarely discussed them directly, and although they were expected to be discussed at the Busan U.S.-China summit, they were not actually addressed. Beyond Taiwan, a host of issues regarding the tariff war were on the agenda, and Xi was said to be reluctant to engage in sensitive discussions in a third country. At the time, Xi sought Trump's visit to China and a follow-up bilateral meeting to discuss the Taiwan issue on home turf, WSJ reported.
Evan Medeiros, a Georgetown University professor who served as a senior national security official in the Barack Obama administration, told WSJ, "It's highly unusual that Xi placed the call first, and it shows that he believes there is an opportunity to shape Trump's views."
When Trump visits China in April, Xi is expected to use the summit there to move Taiwan-related discussions into full gear. Foreign media reported that Xi wants to stress to Trump the need to shed "strategic ambiguity" and wants the United States to formally state that it opposes Taiwan's independence and supports peaceful unification.
Craig Singleton, senior China director at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), a U.S. think tank, told The New York Times (NYT), "China is concerned about a regional coalition (including the United States and Japan) forming around the Taiwan issue," adding, "Xi is trying to directly pressure Trump before such a coalition solidifies so that the United States will bolster China's narrative."
Regarding the Ukraine issue discussed on this call, the NYT reported, "Trump has said he wants to end the war in Ukraine as quickly as possible, and there is analysis that Xi could seek U.S. concessions on Taiwan or tariffs in exchange for proposing to play a mediating role."
However, it is unclear whether Trump will go along with Xi's attempt to isolate Taiwan. On social media that day, Trump personally disclosed the news of his call with Xi and mentioned only that they discussed the war in Ukraine, fentanyl and soybeans, avoiding any reference to Taiwan. He was also working to arrange a call with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi after Xi. The U.S.-Japan leaders' call was reportedly at Trump's request.
Earlier, during last year's presidential campaign, CNN reported in July that Trump had said in private that he could bomb Moscow and Beijing. According to audio released by CNN, Trump told donors, "I told Putin (the Russian president). If you go to Ukraine (attack), I will bomb Moscow," then added, "I told China's Xi Jinping the same thing. If you go to Taiwan (attack), I will bomb Beijing." He continued, "Xi thought I was crazy. He said, 'Beijing?' and reacted, 'You would bomb that place?'"