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Trump says he called President Xi Jinping 'king' of China

Trump says he called President Xi Jinping 'king' of China

Taiwan is the most important and sensitive issue in Sino-U.S. ties, Chinese President Xi Jinping told visiting U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday

US President Donald Trump has said he called President Xi Jinping "king" of China. And that while Xi said he was not, he did not seem too upset by the title.

Trump told his tale at the National Republican Congressional Committee spring dinner in Washington on Tuesday.

"He said, 'But I am not king, I am president.' I said 'No, you're president for life, and therefore you're king'," Trump told his audience, prompting laughter, CNN reported.

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"He said, huh. He liked that. I get along with him great," it quoted the US President as saying.

Trump, 72, visited Beijing in November 2017, just months before China's rubber-stamp legislature, the National People's Congress, dropped the two-term limit on the Chinese presidency in March.

The controversial move cleared the way for Xi, 65, to serve indefinitely as China's head of state, strengthening his grip on power.

China abolished monarchical rule in 1912 when the last emperor of the Qing dynasty, Pu Yi, was overthrown to establish the Republic of China.

Xi is also serving as General Secretary of the ruling Communist Party and Chairman of the Central Military Commission.

(With inputs from PTI)