Top Shot – U.S. President Donald Trump (left) and Chinese President Xi Jinping arrive for a meeting at Gimhae Air Base adjacent to Gimhae International Airport in Busan on October 30, 2025.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds | AFP | Getty Images
US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he had a “long and thorough phone conversation” with Chinese President Xi Jinping, highlighting Iran, Russia’s war in Ukraine, China’s energy purchases and Xi’s planned visit in April as key talking points.
However, a statement from the Chinese government cited Taiwan as the “most important issue” in bilateral relations and called on the United States to “carefully deal with the issue of arms sales to Taiwan.”
China claims Taiwan is part of its territory, but the democratically ruled island rejects this claim.
In December, the US government approved the largest arms sale ever to Taiwan, valued at $11.15 billion, to strengthen the island’s defenses and deter military aggression from China.
David Meal, head of China at Eurasia Group, said China appears to be reminding the United States of “the red lines” but trying to avoid doing anything that would jeopardize President Trump’s plan to visit China in April.
During the phone conversation, President Trump emphasized the trade relationship between the two countries, including China’s purchases of oil and gas, agricultural products, and deliveries of aircraft engines.
President Trump said China has agreed to increase its purchases of U.S. soybeans to 20 million tons this season and 25 million tons next season.
“President Trump’s ‘transactional’ mindset should be a gift to Beijing, as opposed to the ideologically driven mindset reinforced by coalition building,” said Neo Wang, chief China macro analyst at Evercore ISI in New York.
U.S. Ambassador to China David Perdue reportedly said in a closed-door meeting in Hong Kong last month that Boeing was involved in ongoing negotiations ahead of President Trump’s visit.
Wang expects the two leaders to witness the signing of the agreement, which covers as many as 500 Boeing planes, during Trump’s visit to Beijing.
Wang added that President Trump could eliminate the remaining 10% fentanyl-related tariffs on Chinese exports during or shortly after the April meeting, as the aircraft deal could be the “biggest victory.”
Trump described the call as a “great” conversation and said his personal relationship with Xi was “very good,” but Xi was more measured, saying “the United States has concerns and China has concerns,” but that a solution could be found if both sides came to terms with “mutual benefit.”
Missing: Rare earths, Venezuela
Neither side mentioned China’s supply of rare earth minerals, an issue that flared up again last year when China used its dominance in critical minerals to expand its influence and urge President Trump to ease tariff threats.
This may be a sign that the flow to the United States is “satisfied,” Wang said. President Trump also sought to build up America’s stockpiles of critical minerals through a new initiative called “Project Vault,” aimed at strengthening supply chains to counter Chinese dominance in the sector.
Official statements from both sides also did not mention simmering tensions around Venezuela after the United States captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife and seized control of the country’s oil industry in a stunning military operation earlier this year.
After the military operation, President Trump had called on Venezuela to cut economic ties with several countries, including China, but later softened his tone, saying he welcomed Chinese investment.
Iranian flashpoint
The phone call between Trump and Xi came hours after the Chinese president held a videoconference with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss geopolitical flashpoints in the region.
Yuri Ishakov, Putin’s foreign affairs adviser, told reporters at a news conference after the meeting between Xi and Putin that the two leaders sought to align positions on global flashpoints, including Iran, Venezuela and Cuba.
According to official statements, Mr. Xi and Mr. Putin appear to be envisioning a strong united front, with the Kremlin insisting that bilateral relations are a key stabilizing factor amid increasing global turmoil.
President Trump and President Xi Jinping’s phone conversation, in which they discussed the “current situation with Iran,” came ahead of a key meeting between Washington and Tehran on Friday, but continued discussions over the scope of the meeting’s topic.
The phone call between Trump and Xi suggested that “both countries are asking each other how to approach third-country issues,” Mir said, predicting that tensions in the Middle East would continue ahead of Trump’s April trip.
President Trump has threatened to attack Iran following Tehran’s violent crackdown on protesters, and earlier this week sent a naval task force, including an aircraft carrier, to the region. China is the largest buyer of Iranian oil.
Rhodium Group director Leva Gudjon said the “broad range of topics addressed in the call demonstrate President Trump’s carrot-and-stick approach to China,” as the U.S. leader targets Russia’s oil exports and seeks China’s cooperation in bringing President Putin to the negotiating table to ultimately broker a peace deal with Ukraine.
