Chinese President Xi Jinping used a Monday evening phone call with Donald Trump to frame Taiwan’s reunification as an untouchable pillar of the post–World War II settlement, pointedly reminding the U.S. president that the two countries once fought “shoulder-to-shoulder” against Japanese militarism and should now jointly defend the war’s outcome.

The carefully worded history lesson, detailed in a Xinhua readout, served as Beijing’s clearest signal yet that last month’s seemingly cordial Busan summit has not softened China’s core demands.

Xi urged both sides to “lengthen the cooperation list and shorten the problem list,” while insisting on “equality, respect, and mutual benefit” — phrases that implicitly criticize ongoing U.S. technology sanctions, arms sales to Taipei, and the expanding lattice of Indo-Pacific alliances.

Trump, according to the Chinese account, called Xi a “great leader,” described their Busan meeting as “very pleasant,” and said Washington “understands the importance of the Taiwan issue to China.”

Conspicuously absent was any reaffirmation of the one-China policy or acknowledgment that U.S. actions regarding Taiwan — billions in new weapons packages and frequent congressional delegations — directly contradict that understanding.

The leaders briefly discussed Ukraine, with Xi repeating support for a “fair, lasting, and binding” peace deal, language U.S. officials privately dismiss as aligned with Moscow’s maximalist aims.

The call crystallizes a recurring Trump-era pattern: effusive personal praise matched against a Washington establishment that remains deeply wary of Beijing.

While Xi works to lock in Busan’s fragile gains and insists on “equality and mutual benefit,” bipartisan U.S. policy continues to view China as the primary long-term challenge.