Trump and Xi discuss Iran in wide-ranging call as U.S. presses China and others to break from Tehran

U.S. President Donald Trump again warned Canada of a 'substantial' response if the country signs a free trade deal with China.

WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed the situation in Iran in a wide-ranging call that comes as the U.S. administration pushes Beijing and others to isolate Tehran.

Trump said the two leaders also discussed a broad range of other critical issues in the U.S.-China relationship, including trade and Taiwan and his plans to visit Beijing in April.

“The relationship with China, and my personal relationship with President Xi, is an extremely good one, and we both realize how important it is to keep it that way,” Trump said in a social media posting about the call.

The Chinese government, in a readout of the call, said the two leaders discussed major summits that both nations will host in the coming year and opportunities for the two leaders to meet. The Chinese statement, however, made no mention of Trump’s expected April visit to Beijing.

China also made clear that it has no intention of stepping away from it’s long-term plans of reunification with Taiwan, a self-governing, democratic island operating independently from mainland China, though Beijing claims it as its own territory.

“Taiwan will never be allowed to separate from China,” the Chinese government statement said.

Trump and Xi discussed Iran as tensions remain high between Washington and Tehran after the Middle East country’s bloody crackdown on nationwide protests last month.

Trump is now also pressing Iran to make concessions over its nuclear program, which his Republican administration says was already set back by the U.S. bombing of three Iranian nuclear sites during the 12-day war Israel launched against Iran in June.

The White House says that special envoy Steve Witkoff is slated to take part in talks with Iranian officials later this week.

Trump announced last month that the U.S. would impose a 25% tax on imports to the United States from countries that do business with Iran.

Years of sanctions aimed at stopping Iran’s nuclear program have left the country isolated. But Tehran still did nearly $125 billion in international trade in 2024, including $32 billion with China, $28 billion with the United Arab Emirates and $17 billion with Turkey, the World Trade Organization says.

Separately, Xi also spoke on Wednesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Xi’s engagement with Trump and Putin comes as the last remaining nuclear arms pact, known as the New START treaty, between Russia and the United States is set to expire Thursday, removing any caps on the two largest atomic arsenals for the first time in more than a half-century.

Trump has indicated he would like to keep limits on nuclear weapons but wants to involve China in a potential new treaty.

“I actually feel strongly that if we’re going to do it, I think China should be a member of the extension,” Trump told The New York Times last month. “China should be a part of the agreement.”

The call with Xi also coincided with a ministerial meeting that the Trump administration convened in Washington with several dozen European, Asian and African nations to discuss how to rebuild global supply chains of critical minerals without Beijing.

Critical minerals are needed for everything from jet engines to smartphones. China dominates the market for those ingredients crucial to high-tech products.

“What is before all of us is an opportunity at self-reliance that we never have to rely on anybody else except for each other, for the critical minerals necessary to sustain our industries and to sustain growth,” Vice President JD Vance said at the gathering.

Xi has recently held a series of meetings with Western leaders who have sought to boost ties with China amid growing concerns about Trump’s tariff policies and calls for the U.S. to take over Greenland, a Danish territory.

The disruption to global trade under Trump has made expanding trade and investment more imperative for many U.S. economic partners. Vietnam and the European Union upgraded ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership last month, two days after the EU and India announced a free-trade agreement.

Aamer Madhani and Didi Tang, The Associated Press