The president has spoken with the leaders of both countries as they spar over remarks the Japanese prime minister made about the Beijing-claimed island democracy.

With Japan’s new leader refusing to back down from China’s show of force and claims on Taiwan, Xi Jinping picks up the phone to try to pry the U.S.-Japan alliance apart.

Donald Trump has held back-to-back calls with Chinese president Xi Jinping and Japanese prime minister Sanae Takaichi amid a deepening row between Beijing and Tokyo over Taiwan. Xi told the US president during their hour-long call that “Taiwan’s return to China is an integral part of the post-war international order”.

Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi says she has spoken with U.S. President Donald Trump right after he spoke with China, which was angered by her recent comments about Taiwan.

President Trump said he accepted an invitation from Chinese President Xi Jinping to visit China in April and invited Xi to the US for a state visit.

A secret trove of leaked documents has exposed a deepening military partnership between Russia and China, revealing Moscow's direct role in arming and training Chinese forces for potential operations against Taiwan.

From warning tourists to halting seafood imports, China has followed a well-worn playbook in punishing Japan for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks linking a Taiwan conflict to her country’s security. But one weapon remains conspicuously holstered: rare earths.