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ByNomaanMerchant and Christopher Bodeen The Associated Press BEIJING President Donald Trump reaffirmed Wash- ington's long-standing "one China" policy in a call with Beijing's leader, a move that could ease anger in China over his earlier suggestions that he might use Taiwan as leverage in negotiations over trade, security and other sensitive issues. More than two months after deviating from de- cades of American diplo- macy regarding Taiwan by accepting a phone call from the self-governing is- land's president, Trump ap- peared to be trying to reas- sure Beijing he would not seek to upend relations be- tween the world's two-larg- est economies. "This is an important step," said Bonnie Gla- ser, senior adviser on Asia at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. "This will now pave the way for the engagement of the U.S. and Chinese governments on a wide range of issues." The policy in place since 1979 requires Washington to maintain only unofficial ties with Taiwan, the self- governing island that China claims as its own territory. China views any hint of of- ficial U.S. recognition of the island as anathema to Chi- na's revival as a great Asian power. The long-awaited call be- tween Chinese President Xi Jinping and Trump came Thursday evening, Wash- ington time, the White House and China's state broadcaster CCTV said. The two leaders dis- cussed "numerous" topics at length and Trump agreed to honor the "one China" pol- icy, the White House said — though it said Trump did so "at the request of President Xi." It described the call as "extremely cordial" and said the two leaders had invited each other to visit their respective countries and looked forward to fur- ther discussions. Xi "praised" Trump's affirmation of relations, CCTV reported, and said China was willing to work with the U.S. to bring "more fruitful gains for the bene- fit of our two peoples and those in every country." Some had questioned why Trump took so long to call Xi, given that he'd al- ready spoken with more than a dozen world lead- ers. Chinese observers also noted that Trump broke with his predecessors in not extending good wishes on the Lunar New Year hol- iday last month. His belated greeting on Wednesday was praised by China. At a briefing with re- porters Friday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokes- man Lu Kang declined to respond specifically to repeated questions on whether Trump's affirma- tion of the "one China" pol- icy was a condition Beijing set for the call. Lu said Bei- jing's "one China" principle was the foundation of the two countries' relationship. Commenting on Trump's call with Xi, Taiwan's pres- idential spokesman Alex Huang said the island's ad- ministration regards the U.S. as its most impor- tant ally and is grateful for Washington's expression of support for Taiwan in re- cent days. Trump's move comes at a time of uncertainty in U.S.- China relations. Trump has accused Beijing of cheating in trade, criticized China's military buildup in the South China Sea and said the country is doing too lit- tle to pressure North Ko- rea over its nuclear and missile programs. He has accused China of manipu- lating its currency to keep its exports inexpensive and threatened a 45 percent tax on Chinese imports, po- tentially setting off a trade war. Underscoring the uncer- tainties, Thursday's call be- tween the leaders came as the U.S. Pacific Command reported a Chinese KJ-200 early warning aircraft and a U.S. Navy patrol plane had an "unsafe" encounter over the South China Sea this week, without elaborating. The Chinese defense min- istry has not commented, but Beijing routinely com- plains about U.S. military surveillance missions near China. Beijing has been particu- larly concerned about how Washington would treat the question of Taiwan af- ter Trump upset decades of diplomatic precedent by talking by phone with Tai- wanese President Tsai Ing- wen shortly after being elected. In December, Trump said in an interview that he didn't feel "bound" by existing policy on China and Taiwan unless the U.S. could gain concessions from Beijing in trade and other areas. Since switch- ing diplomatic recognition from the island to Beijing in 1979, Washington has maintained robust unoffi- cial relations with Taiwan and provides it with arms to guard against China's threat to use force to re- unify with it. Trump may have been convinced by a senior mem- ber of his Cabinet that the "one China" policy could not be used as a bargain- ing chip, said Glaser of the CSIS think tank. Taiwan should also be relieved that it "will not be used as a bargaining chip" in negotiations between Washington and Beijing, she said. Trump's statement marks a victory for China's public and private efforts to work with Trump and his team, but the White House may have been saying that "we are expecting that you be nice to us as well," said Dali Yang, professor of po- litical science at the Univer- sity of Chicago. ASIA Inshi ,TrumptellsXihe will honor 'one China' policy By Matthew Pennington The Associated Press WASHINGTON President Donald Trump, fresh off patching up ties with China, reassured Japan's leader Friday that the U.S. will defend its close ally. Together, the pronounce- ments illustrated a shift to- ward a more mainstream Trump stance on U.S. pol- icy toward Asia. Welcoming Prime Min- ister Shinzo Abe to the White House with a hug, Trump said he wants to bring the post-World War II alliance with Ja- pan "even closer." While such calls are ritual after these types of meetings, from Trump they're sure to calm anxieties that he has stoked by demanding that America's partners pay more for their own defense. Abe, a nationalist ad- ept at forging relation- ships with self-styled strongmen overseas, was the only world leader to meet the Republican be- fore his inauguration. He is now the second to do so since Trump took office. Flattering the billionaire businessman, Abe said he would welcome the United States becoming "even greater." He also invited Trump to visit Japan this year. Trump accepted, accord- ing to a joint statement. Other leaders of Ameri- ca's closest neighbors and allies, such as Mexico, Brit- ain and Australia, have been singed by their en- counters or conversations with Trump. But the optics Fri- day were positive. After a working lunch on eco- nomic issues, the two lead- ers boarded Air Force One with their wives for a trip to Trump's Mar-a-Lago Club in Florida. Trump and Abe are scheduled to play golf Saturday. Their Oval Office meet- ing came hours after Trump reaffirmed Wash- ington's long-standing "one China" policy in a call with Chinese President Xi Jinping. FOREIGN POLICY SUSANWALSH—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, accompanied by their wives, first lady Melania Trump and Akie Abe, wave before boarding Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base Md., Friday. Trump is hosting Abe at his estate Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., for the weekend. Trump hugs ally Japan a er easing US-China tensions MICHEL EULER — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. | NEWS | REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2017 6 B