On Monday, November 24, 2025, the delicate dance of global diplomacy took center stage as U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping held a pivotal phone conversation. According to multiple reports, including those from Xinhua, Reuters, and Bloomberg, the two leaders discussed a host of issues, from trade and fentanyl to the ever-tense question of Taiwan. The call, which lasted about an hour, followed their high-profile meeting in South Korea just three weeks earlier—a gathering that had already signaled a thaw in the frosty relations between the world’s two largest economies.
President Trump took to Truth Social after the call, describing the relationship between the U.S. and China as “extremely strong” and noting, “This call was a follow-up to our highly successful meeting in South Korea three weeks ago. Since then, there has been significant progress on both sides in keeping our agreements current and accurate.” Notably, Trump made no mention of Taiwan in his public statements—a silence that would soon draw attention in Taipei.
From Beijing’s perspective, Taiwan was front and center. As reported by Xinhua, President Xi told Trump, “Taiwan’s return to China is an integral part of the post-war international order.” Xi went further, emphasizing the historical bond between the two nations: “China and the United States once fought together against fascism and militarism and should now work together to safeguard the outcomes of World War Two.” For Xi, the question of Taiwan is not just a regional matter but a cornerstone of China’s vision for the global order.
China’s claim over Taiwan is longstanding and unyielding, with Beijing viewing the democratic island of 23 million people, located about 130 kilometers off its coast, as a breakaway province that must eventually be brought under its control—by force if necessary. Taiwan, for its part, has consistently rejected this claim, insisting that only its people have the right to decide their future.
While Xi pressed the Taiwan issue, Trump’s approach was more circumspect. The U.S. maintains a policy of strategic ambiguity: it does not officially recognize Taiwan as a sovereign nation but opposes any use of force to change the island’s status and is legally obligated to provide defensive weaponry. Trump has continued this careful balancing act, avoiding direct statements on whether he would commit U.S. troops in the event of a conflict in the Taiwan Strait, while encouraging Taiwan to bolster its own defenses.
The omission of Taiwan from the U.S. readout was met with relief in Taipei. Deputy Foreign Minister Francois Wu Chih-chung told Bloomberg, “It’s the best result that we are not mentioned, meaning we are not part of the deal.” Wu interpreted Trump’s silence as a sign that Taiwan was not being used as a bargaining chip in broader U.S.-China negotiations. Taipei, keenly aware of the risks of being caught in the crossfire between its most important security partner and its powerful neighbor, prefers to keep its fate out of the headlines—at least for now.
Taiwan’s government has also been careful to calibrate its response to the growing tensions between China and Japan. As Tokyo’s rhetoric has grown more assertive, with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi warning that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could trigger a Japanese military response, Taipei has shown subtle support for Japan without provoking Beijing. President Lai Ching-te and Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung have even posted photos of themselves enjoying sushi and encouraged Taiwanese travelers to visit Japan—a quiet nod of solidarity as China suspended imports of Japanese seafood and issued travel warnings in response to Tokyo’s plans to deploy defensive missiles to Yonaguni island, just 110 kilometers from Taiwan.
Japan’s involvement is no small matter. The U.S. sees Japan as a key ally in the region, and the possibility of Japanese military action in defense of Taiwan has raised the stakes considerably. Marvin Park, a former director for Taiwan on the U.S. National Security Council, explained to Reuters that the Japanese missile system, with a range of about 50 kilometers, is purely defensive and cannot reach Taiwan. Still, Park noted, “China’s deeper fear is about the potential of future Japanese militarization. If they bring in this purely defensive system now, that could make it easier for Japan to advocate for more advanced capabilities in the southwest islands.”
Meanwhile, the Trump-Xi call was also a chance to take stock of the recent progress on trade. The October 30, 2025, meeting in South Korea had yielded a framework agreement: the U.S. agreed not to impose 100% tariffs on Chinese imports, while China paused its plans for an export licensing system covering rare earth minerals and magnets. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent expressed hope that a final agreement on rare earths would be completed by Thanksgiving. In the meantime, China resumed purchases of American soybeans and suspended expanded restrictions on rare earth exports. The U.S. reciprocated by reducing tariffs on Chinese goods by 10%, and China pledged to help curb the flow of chemicals used to manufacture fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that has fueled a deadly crisis in America.
Xi, for his part, declared that China-U.S. relations had “stabilized and improved” since the South Korea meeting. “The facts again show that cooperation benefits both sides while confrontation hurts both,” he told Trump, as quoted by Xinhua. Trump echoed this optimism, announcing plans to visit Beijing in April 2026 and extending an invitation for Xi to visit the U.S. later in the year—a diplomatic exchange that could further cement the fragile progress made so far.
But even as trade tensions appeared to ease, the specter of Taiwan—and the broader struggle for influence in the Asia-Pacific—remained. Taiwanese officials, including National Security Council head Joseph Wu and Foreign Ministry spokesman Hsiao Kuang-wei, continued to criticize what they described as China’s “hegemonism” and “authoritarian expansion.” On November 24 and 25, they accused Beijing of threatening Taiwan, bullying the Philippines, and harassing Japan, all in violation of United Nations principles.
For Taiwan, cultivating close ties with democracies like Japan, the U.S., and even European countries has become a crucial strategy for deterring Chinese aggression. Recent months have seen Taiwanese leaders visiting Brussels and Berlin, amplifying their message about the dangers of authoritarian “toolkits.” As Drew Thompson, a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, put it, “The status quo of Japan contributing to deterring China from using force is in Taipei’s favor.”
Still, Taipei remains cautious, wary of stoking tensions that could provoke a harsh economic or military response from Beijing. China has a history of responding to perceived slights with trade restrictions and military maneuvers—measures that have hit Taiwan’s farmers, service industries, and sense of security hard. As Japan’s defense minister reaffirmed plans to deploy missiles to Yonaguni island, Taiwan sought to show support without drawing too much attention, knowing that its own security depends on a careful balance of alliances and restraint.
As the dust settles from the latest Trump-Xi call, one thing is clear: the fate of Taiwan remains a central—if carefully sidestepped—issue in the complex web of U.S.-China relations. With both sides eager to claim progress but unwilling to yield on their core interests, the world will be watching closely as 2026 approaches and the next chapter of this diplomatic saga unfolds.
