New York Times: President Xi Jinping Of China Is Refusing To Talk To President Trump Until He Backs Down And Commits To A One China Policy

Chinese President Xi Jinping. (Xinhua/Ma Zhancheng)

New York Times: President Xi Jinping of China, Stung by Trump’s Taiwan Call, Is Said to Shun Talks

WASHINGTON — When the White House announced this week that President Trump had sent President Xi Jinping of China a letter wishing him a happy Chinese New Year, it did not disclose a major reason for the friendly gesture: Mr. Xi has not gotten on the phone with Mr. Trump.

Stung by Mr. Trump’s unorthodox telephone call with the president of Taiwan and his subsequent assertion that the United States might no longer abide by the “One China” policy, Mr. Xi has notspoken to Mr. Trump since Nov. 14, the week after he was elected. Administration officials say they believe he will only do so after Mr. Trump publicly commits to recognizing a single Chinese government in Beijing.

The letter, which the White House took the unusual step of releasing publicly on Wednesday, was an effort to keep the United States-China relationship from unraveling further, several officials said, especially as Mr. Trump is about to welcome Japan’s prime minister for an extravagant three-day visit that will include a weekend of golf in Florida.

Relations between Washington and Beijing have been frozen since December, when Mr. Trump took a congratulatory phone call from Taiwan’s president, Tsai Ing-wen. The United States has not had diplomatic relations with Taiwan since 1979, but Mr. Trump defended the call by saying he did not know why the United States should be bound by the One China policy.

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Update: China sends Trump 'high praise' after letter to Xi seeking 'constructive' relationship (CNBC/Reuters).

WNU Editor: I do not know if this is the position of President Xi ..... but if it is it is going to create  problems in other areas. My prediction .... they will meet and talk at the G7/G20 .... but the fireworks will really start to happen when the U.S. begins implementing policies to address the U.S. - China trade imbalance. China is dependent on this trade imbalance to finance its growth, and any alteration of it will have severe consequences on its economy .... and in turn it will impact the social peace. And even though I tell my Chinese friends that the U.S. cannot sustain such a trade imbalance for any long period of time .... their mindset is that this has to be maintained .... and too bad for the U.S.. Sighhhh .... this is not going to end well.