Trump Says He Had 'Excellent' Talk With Xi

President Trump said Wednesday that he and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed the situation in Iran in an "excellent" wide-ranging call as the US administration pushes Beijing and others to further isolate Tehran. Trump said the two leaders discussed a broad range of other critical issues in the US-China relationship, including trade, Taiwan and his plans to visit Beijing in April, the AP reports.

• "The relationship with China, and my personal relationship with President Xi, is an extremely good one, and we both realize how important it is to keep it that way," Trump said in a Truth Social post. "I believe that there will be many positive results achieved over the next three years of my Presidency having to do with President Xi, and the People's Republic of China!"

• The Chinese government, in a readout of the call, said the two leaders discussed major summits that both nations will host in the coming year that could present opportunities for them to meet. The Chinese statement, however, made no mention of Trump's expected April visit to Beijing.
• China also made clear that it has no intention of stepping away from its long-term plans of reunification with Taiwan, a self-governing, democratic island operating independently from mainland China, though Beijing claims it as its own territory. The Trump administration in December announced a massive package of arms sales to Taiwan valued at more than $10 billion. "Taiwan will never be allowed to separate from China," the Chinese government statement said. "The US must handle the issue of arms sales to Taiwan with prudence."

• Soybean futures rose after Trump said Xi is considering raising soybean purchases from the US from 12 million to 20 million tons in the current season, reports Reuters.
• Separately, Xi also spoke on Wednesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The leaders held a video call to discuss the burgeoning economic cooperation between Moscow and Beijing and their relations with the US, the AP reports. The Kremlin leader accepted invitations to visit China twice this year.
• "Amid the growing global turbulence, the foreign policy link between Moscow and Beijing has remained a major stabilizing factor," Putin said. Xi said that he and Putin would discuss plans for the development of bilateral ties and "exchange views on major strategic issues," according to a Russian translation of his opening remarks. He noted the two countries need to "use a historic opportunity to continue deepening strategic cooperation."