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Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Monday that China and the US should keep up the momentum in ties, and keep moving forward in the right direction on the basis of equality, respect and mutual benefit, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Xi made the remarks while speaking with US President Donald Trump on the phone.

Xi noted that he and Trump had a successful meeting in Busan last month, and reached many important common understandings.

They recalibrated the course of the giant ship of China-US relations and provided more momentum for it to sail forward steadily, thus sending a positive message to the world, he said.

Since then, the China-US relationship has generally maintained a steady and positive trajectory, and this is welcomed by the two countries and the broader international community, Xi said.

What has happened demonstrates yet again that the description of China-US cooperation benefiting both sides and confrontation hurting both sides reflects a common sense that has been repeatedly proven by experience, and the vision of China and the US helping each other succeed and prosper together is a tangible prospect within reach, Xi said.

He said that the two sides should lengthen the list of cooperation and shorten the list of problems, so as to make more positive progress, create new space for China-US cooperation and bring more benefits to the people of both countries and the world.

Trump noted that President Xi is a great leader, adding that he very much enjoyed his meeting with Xi in Busan, and fully shares Xi's comments about the two countries' relationship. He added that the two sides are implementing all elements of what the two leaders agreed to in Busan, according to Xinhua. 

China was a big part of the victory of WWII, said Trump, stressing that the US understands how important the Taiwan question is to China, per Xinhua.

Vital role of strategic guidance

This latest phone call, coming just one month after the leaders' Busan meeting, continues to demonstrate the important role of heads-of-state diplomacy. The latest phone conversation reviewed the implementation of consensus reached in their previous meeting and offered assurance and direction for keeping the bilateral relations overall stable, according to several Chinese observes reached by the Global Times on Monday.

The most critical factor enabling China-US relations to maintain overall stability has been the strategic guidance provided by heads-of-state diplomacy, which has played an absolutely vital role in shaping the trajectory of China-US relations for the foreseeable future, providing directional leadership, ensuring the stability of bilateral ties, and pointing out a clear path forward, Diao Daming, a professor at the Renmin University of China in Beijing, told the Global Times on Monday. 

This phone call between the two leaders also provided guidance for strategically managing bilateral relations. Its significance lies in building "guardrails" for a complex and sensitive bilateral relationship and preventing competition from spiraling out of control. Direct communication between the top leaders is the most effective channel for avoiding strategic misjudgments and stabilizing bilateral relations, Liu Chunsheng, a professor at the Central University of Finance and Economics, told the Global Times. 

Apart from discussing the bilateral relations, the call also addressed the Taiwan question. 

Xi outlined China's principled position on the Taiwan question, underscoring that Taiwan's return to China is an integral part of the post-war international order, Xinhua reported. 

Noting that China and the US fought shoulder to shoulder against fascism and militarism, Xi said that given what is going on, it is even more important for the two sides to jointly safeguard the victory of World War II.

Global Times found that Taiwan question was mentioned in the January 17 and June 5 phone calls, but was not referenced in the readouts of the phone call on September 19 and in-person meeting on October 30.

The fact that Taiwan was raised again this time might be related to certain changes in the situation over the recent period. Certain countries have been going against the tide, provoking China's sovereignty and territorial integrity - an action that is plainly unacceptable to the international community, some Chinese observers pointed out.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's recent series of erroneous words and deeds on Taiwan question have crossed China's red line and overstepped boundaries. These not only violate fundamental principles of international law but also breach the basic international order established after World War II, triggering widespread unease and concern across the Asia-Pacific region, said Li Haidong, a professor at China Foreign Affairs University.

The lingering poison of militarism inside Japan has not been fully purged and is even showing signs of revival, Li said, while warning that certain Japanese politicians' erroneous remarks on the Taiwan question have not only poisoned Japan's own political environment but have also sharply increased the likelihood that Japan will once again become a potential source of risk for the Asia-Pacific region and even the world at large.

For China and the US, the two main victorious countries of World War II, the timely alignment of positions by the leaders of China and the US at this critical moment is key to curbing external provocations and ensuring that the regional order advances in a direction consistent with the interests of the overwhelming majority of countries, he added. "Under these circumstances, China and the US need to further align their positions and ensure that sensitive core issues do not undermine the stability of bilateral relations." 

The two presidents also discussed the Ukraine crisis. Xi emphasized China's support for all efforts that are conducive to peace, and expressed the hope that the various sides would narrow their differences, reach a fair, lasting and binding peace agreement at an early date, and resolve the crisis at its root, according to Xinhua.

The Ukraine crisis is evidently one of the topics to which the Trump administration attaches great importance. China is not a party to the conflict. But China welcomes all diplomatic efforts that help ease the Ukraine crisis and is willing to play a constructive role in achieving peace, Li said. 

China welcomes any effort to ultimately resolve the issue through peaceful means. At the same time China believes that resolving the crisis requires all relevant parties to meet each other halfway and make concerted efforts. China hopes that if a solution is reached in the future, it should be a genuine one, which is a fair, lasting, and legally binding peace arrangement that fundamentally resolves the crisis, Diao said.