Trump vows to honor 'One China' policy in first phone call as president with China's Xi

US President Donald Trump seems to have patched things up with China by promising to honor the "One China" agreement between the world's two biggest economies on his

first phone call as president with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

A press release from the White House said that during an "extremely cordial" conversation on Thursday evening, the "two leaders discussed numerous topics and President Trump agreed, at the request of President Xi, to honor our 'one China' policy."

The release also said the two leaders extended invitations to meet in their respective countries, and that representatives of each country "will engage in discussions and negotiations on various issues of mutual interest."

Trump rattled the Sino-US relationship after his inauguration by breaking with decades of US policy and taking a call from Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-Wen in December.

The "One China" policy, which the US and China agreed to in 1972, holds that China and Taiwan both belong to a single country. Many on the island of Taiwan, officially known as the Republic of China, see themselves as the legitimate government-in-exile of all of China after the Communist Party took control of the mainland.

For that reason, recognition of Taiwan internationally poses an existential threat to China. China has warned Trump that the "One China" policy between the US and China was non negotiable.

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