Chinese President Xi holds call with US counterpart Trump

• Xi emphasises Taiwan will be brought under China’s control.
• US, China working to finalise deal on rare earths, soybeans.
• Under deal, US will cut back tariffs on Chinese products.
  

Chinese leader Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump discussed bilateral cooperation and the issue of Taiwan in a phone call on Monday, Beijing’s official media reported.

Xi told Trump that their two countries should "maintain momentum in ties", according to Xinhua, in the wake of a meeting last month in South Korea where the two leaders sought to calm a blistering trade war.

On Taiwan, Xi stressed that the island’s "return to China is an important component" of the world order, state broadcaster CCTV said.

China maintains that Taiwan is a part of its territory.

Recent remarks by Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggesting that Tokyo could intervene militarily in any attack on Taiwan have added to tensions.

While the United States does not officially recognise Taiwan’s claim to statehood, Washington remains the island’s most important partner and arms supplier.

Taipei’s top diplomat Lin Chia-lung said earlier this month there was some concern that future Trump-Xi talks "might sacrifice Taiwan’s interests".

"We should be concerned, but not overly worried, because harming Taiwan could also harm US interests," Lin said.

Trump and Xi met in late October for the first time since 2019, engaging in closely watched trade talks between the world’s top two economies.

The tussle between Washington and Beijing, which encompasses everything from rare earths to soybeans and port fees, has rocked markets and gummed up supply chains for months.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said Washington hoped to finalise a deal with Beijing for securing supplies of rare earths by the US Thanksgiving holiday, which falls on Thursday.

A tentative deal reached in last month’s meeting saw Beijing agreeing to suspend for one year certain export restrictions on critical minerals.

China is hugely dominant in the mining and processing of rare earths, which are essential for sophisticated electronic components across a range of industries, including auto, electronics and defence.

Under the deal reached by Trump and Xi, the United States will cut back tariffs on Chinese products, and Beijing will buy at least 12 million metric tons of American soybeans by the end of this year, and 25 million metric tons in 2026.

Xi told Trump on Monday that the "successful" meeting in "South Korea helped calibrate the course and inject momentum into the steady forward movement of the giant ship of China-US relations", Xinhua reported.

Since the meeting, China-US ties have "remained stable and have continued to improve, which has been widely welcomed by both countries and the international community", Xi added.