U.S. President Donald Trump asked Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takiachi not to further escalate a dispute with China during talks this week, sources with knowledge of the matter said, as he tries to preserve a fragile trade war truce with Beijing.

The two leaders discussed trade, Ukraine and Taiwan in their first phone call since meeting in South Korea last month.

Trump announced the plans after a call with the Chinese president that he said was focused on the Russia-Ukraine war and agricultural products like soybeans, a major U.S. export.

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.

China fiercely objects to what it sees as any outside interference on self-ruled Taiwan, which it claims as its own.

Throughout the span of his second term and his first as President of the United States, Donald Trump has maintained a very anti-China stance, publicly criticising the country and its president on numerous occasions.

Donald Trump hit out at European and Ukrainian leaders yesterday as they held talks about a US plan to end the war with Russia, amid confusion about Washington’s position.

U.S. President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping held a phone call on Monday, state media in Beijing said, following their October meeting in South Korea.