Jan. 17 (UPI) — President-elect Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed a range of issues in a phone call on Friday.
“The call was a very good one for both China and the USA,” Trump said in a brief statement on his Truth Social account. “It is my expectation that we will solve many problems together, and many other subjects. President Xi and I will do everything possible to make the world more peaceful and safe.”
The statement said the United States needs to approach the “Taiwan question” with “prudence” along with “sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
The Biden administration and Chinese leaders are at odds over Taiwan, where the outgoing president at one point said the United States would use military force if China attacked it, and over navigation rights in the South China Sea.
Confrontation and conflict should not be an option for the two countries,” the Chinese statement said. “The two sides should follow the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation, work more closely together, do more big, practical and good things that the two countries and the world.”
In a separate statement, Xi announced that Vice President Han Zheng would attend Trump’s inauguration rites in a gesture of mutual respect and that China could have a deeper relationship with the United States.