Trump, who has repeatedly called for the US to be more “unpredictable” in its approach to foreign policy, has left observers questioning whether the phone call to Tsai — which broke with decades of precedent on the US diplomatic approach to Taiwan and has angered Beijing — will set the US back in many other areas where it needs Beijing’s cooperation, from North Korea sanctions to China’s management of its economy.
“The message behind it is definitely unclear,” said a US diplomat in China who asked not to be named because he is not allowed to speak to the press. Commenting on the Chinese response, the diplomat said: “I think the Chinese are being cautious because they have no idea why Trump did this — and honestly neither do we.”…

Steve Tsang, director of the SOAS China Institute at the University of London, said he believed it would be unwise to over-interpret the phone call.

“He has advisors who understand Taiwan. He has business interests who are interested in Taiwan. Maybe somebody told him the president of Taiwan wants to speak to him and he said OK,” Tsang said. “Why is it such a big deal?”