Xi outlines China's principled position on Taiwan question in phone call with Trump

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday outlined China's principled position on the Taiwan question in a telephone call with his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump.

Xi emphasized that Taiwan's return to China is an integral part of the post-war international order.

China and the U.S. fought shoulder to shoulder against fascism and militarism, Xi said. "Given what is going on, it is even more important for us to jointly safeguard the victory of World War Two."

Xi mentioned that he and Trump had a successful meeting in Busan, the Republic of Korea, last month, and reached many important common understandings, saying that they have recalibrated the course of the giant ship of China-U.S. relations and provided more momentum for it to sail forward steadily, thus sending a positive message to the world.

Since the Busan meeting, he said, the China-U.S. relationship has generally maintained a steady and positive trajectory, which has been welcomed by both countries and the wider international community.

What has happened demonstrates yet again that the description of China-U.S. cooperation benefiting both sides and confrontation hurting both sides reflects a common sense that has been repeatedly proven by experience, and the vision of China and the U.S. helping each other succeed and prosper together is a tangible prospect within reach, Xi said.

Xi called on both countries to keep up the momentum, keep moving forward 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 make more positive progress, create new space for China-U.S. cooperation and bring more benefits to the people of both countries and the world.

Trump noted that President Xi is a great leader. He said he very much enjoyed their meeting in Busan and fully shared Xi's comments about the China-U.S. relationship.

Trump said that the two sides are implementing all the elements of what they agreed to in Busan, adding that China was a big part of the victory of World War Two and that the U.S. understands how important the Taiwan question is to China.

The two presidents also discussed the Ukraine crisis. Xi emphasized China's support for all efforts that are conducive to peace and expressed the hope that the various sides would narrow their differences, reach a fair, lasting, and binding peace agreement at an early date, and resolve the crisis at its root.