WASHINGTON, Feb. 10 (APP): In a departure from his earlier statements, US President Donald Trump told his Chinese counterpart that the United States will honour the One-China policy in a move that is expected to ease signs of tensions between the world’s two superpowers.
In a lengthy phone call late Thursday, President Trump and
Chinese President Xi Jinping held ‘extremely cordial’ conversation, according to a statement issued by the White House, adding that the two leaders discussed numerous topics and President Trump agreed to honour the country’s one-China policy.
“The phone call between President Trump and President Xi was extremely cordial, and both leaders extended best wishes to the people of each other’s countries,” the White House said.
The development of China and the United States absolutely can complement each other and advance together. Both sides can absolutely become very good cooperative partners, the Chinese President was quoted as saying by the American media.
This marked a major shift from Trump’s earlier statements in which he had apparently tied the US’ one-China policy to trade ties between the world’s two most powerful nations, raising concern in Beijing.
Since the normalization of ties in the early 70s spearheaded by US President Richard Nixon and China’s leader Mao Zedong, the one-China policy has been the bedrock of U.S.-China diplomatic ties.
Lawyer James Zimmerman, former head of the American Chamber of Commerce in China, in his comments to Washington Post newspaper said that Trump never should have raised the one-China policy in the first place.
“There is certainly a way of negotiating with the Chinese, but threats concerning fundamental, core interests are counterproductive from the get-go,” he was quoted as saying by the Washington Post.
“Without acknowledgement of the one-China policy, Sino-U.S. relations cannot proceed,” said Ni Feng, deputy director of the Institute of American Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing. “Now we can say that Sino-U.S. relations can proceed,” he said.
