Xi Presses Trump About Taiwan in Phone Call, Xinhua Reports
Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke by phone to US President Donald Trump about the self-governing island of Taiwan, according to Chinese state news agency Xinhua.
Xi told Trump that the return of Taiwan to China is a key part of the post-World War II international order, the news agency reported. The White House and Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The call comes after the world’s two largest economies reached a trade truce last month that saw Washington lower tariffs on Chinese goods and Beijing remove certain restrictions on the export of rare earths. Relations, however, have been buffeted by fresh tensions between China and Japan, a top US ally in the region.
Trump said on Nov. 14 that the US was talking to the Chinese government about increasing purchases of American soybeans, another provision of the agreement.
“They’re in the process of doing it,” Trump said. “We spoke to them today. They’re in the process. We’re doing not only a little bit, but they’ll be doing a lot of soybean purchase.”
The US and China are still negotiating key details over how Beijing will free up sales of rare earths, according to people familiar with the matter. The two nations aim to agree on terms for “general licenses” that China pledged to offer for US-bound exports of rare earths and critical minerals by month’s end.
Despite talks over the materials, which are critical to the manufacture of high-tech electronics, remaining in limbo, the US already moved to roll back tariffs and national security measures. Shortfalls in supplies of rare earths this year had left global industries including autos, consumer goods and robotics at risk of production disruptions
The discussion also comes as the Trump administration is again weighing whether to allow the sale of more advanced artificial intelligence chips to Beijing. Trump had floated the possibility before his October meeting with Xi in South Korea, but ultimately the two leaders did not discuss the issue. Some Trump advisers have warned that the sale risks ceding the US’s advantage in the emerging technology.
The president is hearing from “lots of different advisers” in deciding on the potential exports, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Monday in a Bloomberg Television interview.
“That kind of decision sits right on the desk of Donald Trump,” Lutnick said. “He will decide whether we go forward with that or not.”
Source : Bloomberg.com
