Donald Trump has revealed the words Chinese President Xi Jinping said to him during a private meeting last week.
The US president recently embarked on a five-day tour across Asia, which involved talks with Xi.
Trump arrived in Malaysia on October 26 before making his way over to Japan the following day, where he met with Sanae Takaichi, the country's new leader and first-ever female prime minister.
The POTUS then traveled to South Korea and hosted talks with South Korea's presidential aide Kim Yong-beom and Chinese President Xi.
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Trump's negotiations with China, in particular, went rather well, with the two world leaders coming to an agreement on a wide range of issues.
One topic that wasn't brought up in discussions last week was Taiwan, the self-governed island that China claims is part of its territory.
Well, Trump has claimed that Xi assured him China would not take any steps towards Taiwan while the current POTUS is in office. But what could happen after Trump leaves office remains a mystery.
Speaking to CBS News, the Republican said: "He has openly said and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘We would never do anything while President Trump is president’ because they know the consequences."
While Trump said of Xi in particular: "You’ll find out if it happens, and he understands the answer to that."
The 1979 Taiwan Relations Act doesn’t require the US to step in and help on the military front if China invades Taiwan, though it does mean America must provide the island with resources to defend itself.
As per The Independent, a spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in the US capital, Liu Pengyu, said: "The Taiwan question is China’s internal affair, and it is the core of China’s core interests. How to resolve the Taiwan question is a matter for the Chinese people ourselves, and only the Chinese people can decide it."
After the meeting, Trump confirmed that the US would lower tariffs implemented earlier this year as punishment on China for the alleged selling of chemicals used to make fentanyl from 20 percent to ten percent, bringing the total combined tariff rate on China down from 57 percent to 47 percent.
"I guess on the scale from zero to 10, with ten being the best, I would say the meeting was a 12. I think it was a 12," the POTUS said.
Trump added they also discussed the export of more advanced computer chips to China, saying that Nvidia would be in talks with Chinese officials.
Elsewhere, Xi said the two countries would work to finalise their agreements to provide 'peace of mind' for the sake of China, the US and the rest of the world, according to a report on the meeting distributed by state media.
Topics: Donald Trump, China, Politics, World News
Callum Jones