The highlights this week: Xi and Trump have an unexpected phone call, China escalates its dispute with Japan , and Chinese scientists make a nuclear energy breakthrough .

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The highlights this week: Xi and Trump have an unexpected phone call, China escalates its dispute with Japan, and Chinese scientists make a nuclear energy breakthrough.

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Trump and Xi Have Surprise Phone Call

Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump had an unexpected phone call on Monday, reaffirming, according to the Chinese readout, a successful meeting in Busan, South Korea, last month. In his Truth Social post, Trump said that the two talked mostly about trade and agreed to reciprocal visits, with him going to Beijing in April and Xi visiting Washington later next year.

But whatโ€™s most interesting here is the treatment of Taiwan. China didnโ€™t mention it in the readout of the Busan meeting, and Trump said it wasnโ€™t discussed. This time, however, the Chinese side said Xi restated Chinaโ€™s โ€œprincipled positionโ€ on Taiwan and emphasized that Taiwanโ€™s โ€œreturn to China is an integral part of the post-war international order.โ€

It seems unlikely that the two leaders actually had meaningful disc

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