US Losing Power In China? Donald Trump, In Call With Xi Jinping, Agrees To Honor 'One China' Policy

United States President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke over the phone and the former reassured Xi that the U.S. is committed to honoring the "One China" policy, according to a White House press release late Thursday night.

"President Trump agreed, at the request of President Xi, to honor our 'one China' policy. Representatives of the United States and China will engage in discussions and negotiations on various issues of mutual interest. ... They also extended invitations to meet in their respective countries. President Trump and President Xi look forward to further talks with very successful outcomes," the statement reportedly said while describing the call as cordial.

The release comes in the light of a recent report from the New York Times, which claimed that the White House omitted the fact that Trump had to send Xi a letter because the latter would not accept the president’s call. The report said that Xi was upset over Trump’s phone call on Nov. 14 with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen following his election victory, and added that was the last date on which the two spoke over phone.

To help mitigate souring relations, Michael T. Flynn, Trump’s national security adviser, reportedly spoke to China’s top foreign policy official, Yang Jiechi, last Friday where they decided on a vague pledge to “reinforce high-level exchanges.”

Flynn and his deputy, K.T. McFarland, then personally delivered Trump’s letter to China’s ambassador to the U.S., Cui Tiankai. In the letter to the Chinese president, Trump said he was looking forward to working with Xi to develop a “constructive relationship that benefits both the United States and China." Trump also thanked Xi for a congratulatory note on his inauguration, besides wishing the Chinese people Year of the Rooster and a happy Lantern Festival, a statement by White House spokesman Sean Spicer reportedly said.

It wasn't immediately clear if Trump, who had publicly questioned the "One China" policy and argued to use Taiwan as a bargaining chip to negotiate with China over trade and other issues, was counseled to reconsider his stance by his secretary of state. Rex W. Tillerson had pledged to uphold the "One China" policy. However, what is known is that Trump has antagonized China on several other occasions, through and after his campaign trail.

Trump accused China of being a currency manipulator that has been siphoning off American manufacturing jobs, and threatened to impose a 12 percent import tax on Chinese goods if they don’t fall in line.

Trump has also condemned China several times for not doing enough to stymie North Korea’s nuclear and missile efforts. Earlier this year, when North Korea declared its plans to test an intercontinental ballistic missile, Trump tweeted: "China has been taking out massive amounts of money & wealth from the U.S. in totally one-sided trade, but won't help with North Korea. Nice!"

And, in a December interview with Fox, Trump said: “We’re being hurt very badly by China with devaluation; with taxing us heavy at the borders when we don’t tax them; with building a massive fortress in the middle of the South China Sea, which they shouldn’t be doing; and, frankly, with not helping us at all with North Korea.”