Taiwan’s response to recent phone call between leaders of US and China
It was reported that the leaders of the US and China had a phone call on Monday. Chinese state media, Xinhua News Agency claimed that Xi Jinping had said to Donald Trump, “Taiwan’s return to China is an integral part of the post-war international order.” However, no mention of Taiwan was made in the US president’s summary of the call. On Tuesday, Trump made another phone call, this time to Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae. Viewed from Taiwan, the recent events indicated that US policy in the Indo-Pacific remains largely unchanged, but Taiwan must bolster its self-defense capabilities nonetheless.
The leaders of the US and China were known to be in contact once again, following their meeting on the sidelines of APEC at the end of October. Chinese state media stated that Xi Jinping raised the issue of Taiwan over the phone.
According to Xinhua News Agency, Xi had said that “Taiwan’s return to China is an integral part of the post-war international order.” However, US President Donald Trump’s summary on Truth Social said they’d touched upon many topics, including Ukraine and Russia, agricultural exports, and mutual invitations of state visit. He wrote nothing about Taiwan.
Reports of the phone call caught the attention of Taiwan and Japan. The next day, Trump called Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae.
Takaichi Sanae
Prime Minister of Japan
President Trump elaborated on US-China relations to me, including the phone call he had with the Chinese leader. He had just visited Japan, and I believe this phone call re-emphasized the close cooperation between the US and Japan.
Takaichi also said that Trump had told her the two of them are good friends, and she could call him anytime. Meanwhile, the Presidential Office also responded to the reports by saying that Taiwan sees any effort to safeguard regional security positively, and that the country will continue to stay in close contact with the US on this matter. The premier also commented on China’s statement on Taiwan in the phone call.
Cho Jung-tai
Premier
The Republic of China, Taiwan, is a fully sovereign and independent country. The 23 million people of Taiwan do not have a “reunification” option. Maintaining the status quo is something the world is collectively focused on.
Cho also emphasized that “Taiwan is the world’s Taiwan.” Meanwhile, a scholar says US policy on the Indo-Pacific region remains largely unchanged.
Su Tzu-yun
Institute for National Defense and Security Research
Trump had said to Takaichi that she could call him anytime. From that alone, it’s clear that the cooperation between Washington DC and Tokyo remains the same. Trump’s phone call with Xi did not affect US policy on Japan.
Although the recent interaction between the US, China and Japan did not appear to substantively affect the status quo, the scholar said Taiwan’s priority remains the same, that is to maintain its self-defense capabilities.
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2025-11-25
