Trump phones his ‘friend’ Xi Jinping

At nearly midnight Beijing time today, Xinhua News Agency replaced its top story on the Kim-Xi meeting with a brief report (in Chinese) on a phone call between Xi and U.S. President Donald Trump. The report says:

• Xi attaches “great importance to developing bilateral relations and cherishes his good working relationship with the American president.” Xi called last week’s trade talks “frank, efficient and constructive” and spoke of mutually beneficial outcomes and win-win results, and he made friendly noises about American outreach to North Korea.
• Before the call, Trump tweeted: “I will be speaking to my friend, President Xi of China, this morning at 8:30. The primary topics will be Trade, where good things will happen, and North Korea, where relationships and trust are building.” The White House official readout of the call is here.

Trump and Xi use different vocabulary, but they’re making the same friendly noises without committing to any specifics whatsoever.