What did Trump say to Asako Kishida on the phone? Many people are guessing.

Trump had a phone call with the Chinese leader at Beijing time last night, and then had another phone call with Asako Kishida at Beijing time this morning. So far, all reports and statements have come from the Japanese side; Trump and the White House have said nothing about the latter call.

According to Asako Kishida, this call confirmed the close cooperation between Tokyo and Washington. Additionally, "President Trump explained the current state of U.S.-China relations, including the U.S.-China leaders' call held last night," she refused to reveal more details about this call.

Asako Kishida's refusal to disclose details, and Trump and the White House's silence so far, contrast sharply with Trump's enthusiastic post after the U.S.-China leaders' call, in which he announced that he would be invited to visit China in April next year. Based on experience, Old Hu guesses that during the brief 25-minute call between Trump and Asako Kishida, they probably spent a lot of time discussing matters that could not be made public. These discussions should be related to Asako Kishida's recent radical remarks on the Taiwan issue, which severely worsened Sino-Japanese relations.

Trump is likely to have conveyed to Asako Kishida the message that he does not want any major incidents to occur in the Taiwan Strait in the near future. The United States is currently committed to reaching a comprehensive trade agreement with China, and he hopes that his visit to China next April will proceed smoothly. He does not want any additional issues to interfere with his plans before that, nor does he want Japan to take actions that escalate tensions in the Taiwan Strait.

Although Trump may have told Kishida that the U.S. and Japan are good friends, even saying something like "we're good friends, you can call me anytime," the basic message he conveyed should be: "Don't give me trouble during this period."

Since Asako Kishida spread the statement "If something happens in Taiwan, it is also a matter for Japan" at the beginning of this month, which ruined Sino-Japanese relations, U.S. high-level officials have remained low-key and avoided commenting. Trump has said nothing either. This is probably one of the reasons why Asako Kishida has been somewhat subdued since then.

Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1849742407147721/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author.