President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke by phone on Thursday for the first time since Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration, marking a significant de-escalation in the White House’s aggressive posture toward the world’s second-largest economy. Trump told Xi that he would honor the "One China" policy, according to a Thursday statement by the White House Press Office, referring to a diplomatic understanding that the U.S. will not challenge Beijing’s assertion of sovereignty over Taiwan, a self-governing island that Beijing views as a breakaway province. “The two leaders discussed numerous topics and President Trump agreed, at the request of President Xi, to honor our 'One China' policy,” the statement said. “The phone call between President Trump and President Xi was extremely cordial, and both leaders extended best wishes to the people of each others’ countries,” the statement added. Though Trump has spoken by phone with more than a dozen other world leaders since his Jan. 20 inauguration, his only conversation with Xi took place in November, a week after the election.

Source: Los Angeles Times February 10, 2017 05:25 UTC