U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping as they hold a bilateral meeting at Gimhae International Airport, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, in Busan, South Korea, October 30, 2025.
Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters
President Donald Trump spoke on the phone with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday morning, a White House official confirmed to CNBC.
Specifics about the call, including why it was scheduled or who requested it, were not immediately clear. The White House did not provide details about what was discussed.
But China’s Foreign Affairs Ministry, in a statement, said, “The two sides are implementing all elements of what we agreed to” when the two leaders met in Busan, South Korea, late last month.
That consensus involved the United States agreeing to lower tariffs on Chinese goods, and China agreeing to pause new export controls on rare earth minerals, among other stipulations that lowered the temperature in their ongoing trade war.
“The China-U.S. relationship has generally maintained a steady and positive trajectory” since the Busan meeting, Beijing said in the statement on Monday, which was translated by NBC News.
Trump and Xi also discussed Ukraine, which is currently in talks with the U.S. over a peace plan that the Trump administration wants Kyiv to agree to by Thanksgiving.
Xi “emphasized China’s support for all efforts that are conducive to peace,” according to Beijing’s readout of the call.
The Chinese leader also reiterated his country’s view that Taiwan should “return to China.”
Trump said that the U.S. “understands how important the Taiwan question is to China,” the foreign ministry’s statement said.
Trump also said that Xi “is a great leader” on the call, according to the ministry.