In Trump-Xi phone call, China urges US to 'carefully handle' Taiwan issue
Chinese President Xi Jinping told his US counterpart Donald Trump that the two should "correct the course" of bilateral relations, in a Thursday phone call reported by state media.
The talks took place at Trump's request, the Xinhua news agency said without elaborating, and come as Washington and Beijing clash over areas such as trade and student visas.
Xi told Trump that "to correct the course of the big ship of China-US ties, it is necessary for both sides to set the right direction, and eliminate all kinds of disruptions, even sabotage, which is especially important", according to Xinhua.
ALSO READ | Amid US-China tariff row, Donald Trump dials Xi Jinping
The call follows officials from the world's two biggest economies accusing each other of jeopardising a trade war truce agreed last month in Geneva.
"The US side should take a realistic view of the progress made and withdraw its negative initiatives against China," Xi told Trump according to a readout from state broadcaster CCTV.
He said the Geneva talks showed that "dialogue and cooperation are the only right choice", and insisted China had abided by the agreements made in Switzerland.
But the Chinese president warned Trump that Washington should tread carefully over the issue of self-ruled Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its territory.
"Xi emphasised that the United States should handle the Taiwan issue carefully to avoid a small number of 'Taiwan independence' separatists dragging China and the United States into a dangerous situation of conflict and confrontation," CCTV said.
The Chinese leader's comments come after US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that Beijing's military was "rehearsing for the real deal" and preparing for a potential invasion of Taiwan.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
37 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Trump, Musk and a split foretold
It has been less than six months (of a 48-month tenure) since Donald J Trump assumed the office of the President of the United States for a second time. In that time, he has upended the US's relationship with its Western allies and engaged in a start-stop tariff regime based on questionable assumptions. He has also injected elements of uncertainty into the US's ties with countries, including India, that have been growing and deepening steadily for nearly three decades. The public spat between President Trump and Elon Musk — beyond the barbs and the almost reality TV style of the 'breakup' — must be seen in this context. Drama and uncertainty mark both US domestic politics and how the superpower engages with the world. The world's richest man played a significant part in the Trump campaign and the administration. Musk contributed about $250 million to Trump's election fund and, after the election, led the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The differences over the Trump administration's 'One Big Beautiful Bill', emerging a day after Musk left DOGE, quickly spiralled into an all-out social-media war between the two billionaires, replete with name-calling. While Musk claimed that he won Trump the election and echoed conspiracy theories about his connections with deceased financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the President raised questions about government contracts for the Tesla and SpaceX founder's companies. Given their egos, perhaps it was a split foretold. That said, the Trump-Musk spat sends out the message that it is not necessarily institutions and interests that determine the course of politics and policy in Washington. Till recently, the 'bromance' between the two men made Musk's companies all but de facto national champions and the tech entrepreneur was seen across capitals as an extension of the White House. SpaceX, for example, has deep ties to NASA and its vessels ferry US astronauts to the International Space Station. The uncertainty around the future of that collaboration will make things more complicated for Delhi as it tries to deepen cooperation in space with the US. Deals with Tesla and Starlink, while made by private players, may take on a different colour. The Trump administration's domestic policies have already had reverberations in India, especially its attitude to visas for foreign students and workers. The immature insistence that the White House mediated the ceasefire after Operation Sindoor went against the grain of 30 years of the bilateral relationship — through Republican and Democrat administrations — of de-hyphenating India and Pakistan. As India tries to manage the US relationship over the next three years, it must keep in mind that it is working with a partner that is much more temperamental — today's Trump loyalist might be tomorrow's persona non grata.
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
41 minutes ago
- First Post
'Fake news': Amid legal setbacks, Trump wins 'Gulf of America' battle against AP
The AP sued in February after the White House restricted the news outlet's access over its decision to continue referring to the Gulf of Mexico in its coverage despite Trump renaming the body of water the Gulf of America read more President Donald Trump is free to bar The Associated Press from some White House media events for now, after a U.S. appeals court on Friday paused a lower court ruling mandating that AP journalists be given access. The divided ruling by the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit temporarily blocks an order by US District Judge Trevor McFadden, who ruled on April 8 that the Trump administration must allow AP journalists access to the Oval Office, Air Force One and White House events while the news agency's lawsuit moves forward. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The 2-1 ruling was written by US Circuit Judge Neomi Rao, joined by fellow Trump appointee U.S. Circuit Judge Gregory Katsas. Rao wrote that the lower court injunction 'impinges on the President's independence and control over his private workspaces' and that the White House was likely to ultimately defeat the Associated Press' lawsuit. The Associated Press in a statement said it was disappointed by the decision and weighing its options. A White House spokesperson, Taylor Budowich, in a statement on the social media platform X said the Associated Press has no 'right to unfettered access to limited spaces, like the Oval Office and Air Force One.' In a dissent, Circuit Judge Cornelia Pillard, an appointee of President Barack Obama, said her two colleagues' ruling cannot be squared with 'any sensible understanding of the role of a free press in our constitutional democracy.' The AP sued in February after the White House restricted the news outlet's access over its decision to continue referring to the Gulf of Mexico in its coverage despite Trump renaming the body of water the Gulf of America. The AP's lawyers argued the new policy violated the First Amendment of the Constitution, which protects free speech rights. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD McFadden, who was appointed by Trump during his first term, said in his ruling that if the White House opens its doors to some journalists it cannot exclude others based on their viewpoints. Trump administration lawyers said the president has absolute discretion over media access to the White House and that McFadden's ruling infringed on his ability to decide whom to admit to sensitive spaces. 'The Constitution does not prohibit the President from considering a journalist's prior coverage in evaluating how much access he will grant that journalist,' lawyers for the administration said in a court filing. On April 16, the AP accused the Trump administration of defying the court order by continuing to exclude its journalists from some events and then limiting access to Trump for all news wires, including Reuters and Bloomberg. Reuters and the AP both issued statements denouncing the new policy, which puts wire services in a larger rotation with about 30 other newspaper and print outlets. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Other media customers, including local news organizations that have no presence in Washington, rely on the wire services' real-time reports of presidential statements as do global financial markets. The AP says in its stylebook that the Gulf of Mexico has carried that name for more than 400 years and, as a global news agency, the AP will refer to it by its original name while acknowledging the new name Trump has chosen.
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
42 minutes ago
- First Post
'We'll look at everything': Trump to review Musk's govt contracts, says country can function 'without him'
Trump sought to downplay Musk's contribution to the defence and space sectors, saying the country can very well function without anybody 'except me' read more US President Donald Trump Friday (June 6) suggested that his administration would be reviewing all government contracts currently held by tech billionaire Elon Musk's companies. This comes as the world's most powerful leader engaged in an ugly public spat with the world's richest man on Thursday, culminating in back-and-forth attacks and insults. Signs of thaw emerged by Thursday night but Trump cleared the air by saying he was not interested in sorting things out. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'We'll take a look at everything. I look at everything. He's got a lot of money. He gets a lot of subsidy. So, we'll take a look at that,' Trump said. However, he added the decisions would be driven by national interests. 'Only if it's fair. Only if it's fair for him and for the country. I would certainly think about it, but it has to be fair,' Trump added. Trump again dismissed rumours of his potential talks with Musk, saying, 'No, I don't have any plans. Somebody made a mistake I'm not even thinking about that.' Will Trump reopen past investigations into Musk? When reporters aboard Air Force One asked whether Trump would reopen any past investigation into Musk or his companies, the president said he didn't know if there were any. 'I didn't know that they had any, but if they had them, I would just let them speak for themselves. I have no idea,' said Trump. 'US can survive without anybody, except me' Trump also sought to downplay Musk's contribution to the defence and space sectors, saying the country can very well function without anybody 'except me'. 'The US can survive without almost anybody. Except me,' he said. Trump then said he was focused on the contentious 'Big Beautiful Bill' and claimed he had enough support on the legislation. 'I don't have too many critics Maybe Rand Paul or somebody. But over the last 24 hours, it's even solidified. We have tremendous support on the bill.' During his interaction, Trump avoided direct attacks at Musk but signalled deepening cracks in the bromance that began ahead of the 2024 presidential elections. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Trump-Musk feud Just last week, Musk received a warm farewell from Trump as he stepped down from his role as a special employee for the US government. However, on Thursday, Musk didn't pull punches after the president said he was 'disappointed' and 'surprised' by Musk's criticism of his tax and spending bill. He took to X, calling the bill a 'big, ugly spending bill,' and started a poll asking if it's time to create a new political party 'that actually represents the 80% in the middle.' He pinned the poll to the top of his X account. Over 2.1 million people voted, with 81.9 per cent saying 'Yes.' Trump responded by threatening to cancel Musk's government contracts, claiming Elon Musk 'went CRAZY.' Since then, Musk has said that Trump's tariffs will cause a recession, and escalated matters with an unverified claim about Jeffrey Epstein.
