A breakthrough in U.S.-China relations? What Trump and Xi truly did during the key call

Unexpected turn in tense relationships

In the atmosphere of an expanding technological and commercial war that dominated relations on the Washington-Pekin line, Friday's telephone conversation between US president Donald Trump and China's leader Xi Jinping is simply a amazing and possibly crucial turn. After months of escalation of tensions, both sides sent a signal of readiness for dialogue, agreeing a series of meetings at the highest level. However, an analysis of authoritative communications from Washington and Beijing reveals subtle but crucial differences in explanation of the findings, which shows how fragile and complex the way to sustainable stableness remains.

Meeting agreement, differences in details

Both American and Chinese sources confirm the key fact: Donald Trump and Xi Jinping held on Friday, September 19, 2025, a telephone call during which they agreed to a individual meeting. It is expected to take place at the margins of the Asia-Pacific economical Community Summit (APEC) in Gyeongju, South Korea.

President Trump, in a distinctive style, announced arrangements on the fact Social platform. His entry was optimistic, speaking of “very productive conversation” and “progress on many very crucial issues”. Trump besides informed of the agreement of his visit to China at the beginning of next year and of president Xi's future, common visit to the United States at “the right time”.

The Chinese message, published by the state news agency Xinhua, was much more restrained. He described the talks as “pragmatic, affirmative and constructive”, confirming the gathering plan at the APEC summit. However, in the Chinese version there was no clear confirmation of Trump's visit to Beijing or Xi's announcements in the US. This discrepancy suggests that although there is simply a common will for meetings, their details and timetable may inactive be negotiated.

TikTok issue: “Approval” versus “respect”

The most crucial difference in communications concerns the future of American operations of the popular TikTok app. president Trump in his entry explicitly thanked for “approval of the TikTok agreement” (“the adoption of the TikTok Deal”).

Meanwhile, the Chinese Communication presents the substance rather differently. According to Xinhua, president Xi stated that the Chinese government “respects the wishes of the company” and “welcomes a market-based solution” that takes into account the interests of both parties and Chinese law. In Chinese relations, the word “approval” does not appear, suggesting that Beijing views the transaction not as a concession to the US, but as a commercial decision by ByteDance, made under the applicable regulations. This subtle difference is of large image importance – Trump presents the situation as his negotiating victory, while China emphasizes respect for marketplace rules and its own law.

Topics raised and omitted: Different Power Priorities

Analysis of the content of the conversation reveals different priorities for both leaders. Donald Trump mentioned in his communication advancement on trade, the fight against fentanyl and the request to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.

In a Chinese message, the Ukrainian thread was completely omitted. Instead, Xi Jinping devoted much attention to symbolic and historical issues, referring to the “Flying Tigers” – American volunteer pilots who fought on China's side during planet War II. He stressed that the “Chinese people will never forget valuable support” from the US, which was a clear motion to build a communicative of historical friendship, not just about current interests.

What has been omitted in both messages is besides highly meaningful. no of the parties mentioned Taiwan—an issue Beijing repeatedly referred to as the “first red line” in relations with the US. According to experts specified as Henrietta Levin of the Centre for strategical and global Studies (CSIS), this is simply a deliberate procedure to remove the most avid subject from the agenda and focus on restoring assurance in the economical and strategical sphere.

Expert Opinions: Careful optimism and fragile trust

Analysts, commenting on the conversation, express cautious optimism, but at the same time emphasize how delicate the current thaw is.

• Kelly Grieco from the Stimson Center notes that the omission of Ukraine's subject in the Chinese Communication reflects differences in priorities. In her opinion, China's approach is more strategical and focused on the long-term form of its relation with the US, while Trump focuses on more tactical, circumstantial “contracts”.
• Henrietta Levin with CSIS sees a series of scheduled meetings as “a clear interest in both sides in medium-term stableness in relations”.
• Lizzi Lee With the Asia Society Policy Institute, however, it calms the mood, claiming that “the infrastructure of trust is inactive very fragile” and there are no grounds for an immediate organisation of the Beijing summit. A gathering on neutral ground, the APEC summit, gives both parties space to show commitment without making excessive commitments.

Step forward, but the road is inactive bumpy

Trump and Xi's conversation is undoubtedly the most crucial diplomatic event in American-Chinese relations for months. It means deescalation and opens the way for further dialogue. However, divergences in authoritative communications show that both sides are inactive playing a communicative game, trying to present findings as their success.

A gathering in South Korea will now be crucial, which will show whether the gestures of goodwill will be followed by concrete, mutually acceptable solutions. Although the atmosphere has temporarily improved, fundamental differences in interests and distrust stay major challenges in the way of real normalising relations between the 2 world's top powers.

Source:

• Nikkei Asia (2025-09-19). Trump and Xi agree to meet at APEC in telephone call.
• Truth Social (2025-09-19). Donald Trump's entry.
• Xinhua News Agency (2025-09-19). Communication on president Xi Jinping's conversation with president Donald Trump.

Leszek B. Glass

Email: [email protected]

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