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President Trump and China’s Xi Jinping Gave Very Different Reports of Their Phone Call

4 minute read
By Alana Abramson

President Donald Trump spoke by phone with Chinese President Xi Jinping April 11 — and their official statements about the conversation couldn’t have been more different.

The White House provided no information beyond the fact that a phone call had taken place. “President Donald J. Trump spoke last night President Xi Jinping of China to follow up after President Xi’s visit to Mar-a-Lago,” it said in a statement. “It was a very productive call.”

A readout from the Chinese President, however, obtained and translated by CNN, not only detailed what the two discussed — topics included North Korea and Syria — but also mentioned steps to move the relationship forward.

“We held in-depth exchanges on China-US relations in a new era as well as major international and regional issues, and reached important consensus,” said Xi. “Mr. President and I have deepened our mutual understanding and established a good working relationship. Next, both sides should utilize the four high-level dialogue mechanisms, namely diplomatic and security, comprehensive economic, law enforcement and cyber security, as well as social and people-to-people dialogues.”

Here’s the full text of President Xi’s readout, as translated by CNN.

On the morning of April 12, President Xi Jinping talked to US President Donald Trump on the phone.
Xi emphasized: “I’m very happy to talk to Mr. President on the phone. Our recent meetings at Mar-a-Lago produced important results, which have been recognized by the Chinese people as well as the international community. I thank the president for your warm hospitality and detailed arrangements.”
Xi said: “We held in-depth exchanges on China-US relations in a new era as well as major international and regional issues, and reached important consensus. Mr. President and I have deepened our mutual understanding and established a good working relationship. Next, both sides should utilize the four high-level dialogue mechanisms, namely diplomatic and security, comprehensive economic, law enforcement and cyber security, as well as social and people-to-people dialogues. We should use them to promote the implementation of the ‘100-Day Plan’ as well as expanding exchanges and coordination between the militaries and on law enforcement, cyber issues and people-to-people exchanges. We should strengthen our communication and coordination on major international and regional issues. We should strive to produce results sooner to inject new energy in the development of bilateral ties, and work together to promote global peace and development. Teams from both sides should work closely to ensure a successful and fruitful visit by Mr. President to China later this year.”
Trump said that he was very happy to host Xi at Mar-a-Lago in Florida and to have held a very successful US-China presidential summit there. He said it is very important for both presidents to keep close contact and agreed that both sides should work together to expand pragmatic cooperation in a wide range of areas. He said he looked forward to paying a state visit to China.
The two leaders exchanged views on issues of mutual concern including the situation on the Korean Peninsula. Xi emphasized: “China adheres to the goal of denuclearization of the peninsula and insists on preserving peace and stability on the peninsula. China advocates to resolve the issue through peaceful means, and is willing to maintain communication and coordination with the US on the Korean Peninsula issue.”
On the Syria issue, Xi said: “Any use of chemical weapons is unacceptable.” He said: “We should adhere to the direction of resolving the issue through political means. Maintaining unity within the UN Security Council is very important to resolve the Syria issue and I hope the UNSC will speak with one voice.”
The two leaders agreed to keep close contact through various means.

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Write to Alana Abramson at Alana.Abramson@time.com