President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping had a “lengthy” and “very cordial” phone conversation Thursday evening, the White House said in a statement, and “President Trump agreed, at the request of President Xi, to honor our ‘one China’ policy.” Trump had irked Beijing by speaking with Taiwan’s president on the phone soon after his inauguration, the first direct contact between the U.S. and Taiwanese presidents since 1979. Trump had also said he might use the bedrock policy of officially recognizing Taiwan as part of China as a bargaining chip to wrest trade or monetary concessions out of Beijing. As a result, Xi and Trump had not spoken since Trump’s election in November, and China’s silent treatment was getting awkward. Trump rolls out the red carpet Friday for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan, China’s longtime strategic rival.
The failing @nytimes does major FAKE NEWS China story saying "Mr.Xi has not spoken to Mr. Trump since Nov.14." We spoke at length yesterday!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 10, 2017
