‘It is my expectation that we will solve many problems together,’ the incoming US president says after a call with Xi Jinping.
United States President-elect Donald Trump says he had a “good” phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping, suggesting that Washington and Beijing will work to resolve various issues going forward.
The call on Friday came three days before Trump — who has pledged to impose steep tariffs of up to 60 percent on Chinese imports — returns to the White House.
Trump’s trade policies may deteriorate the already tense ties between the US and China. High tariffs on Chinese goods could raise prices for US consumers, harm China’s economy and set off a trade war between the two countries.
But the incoming US president expressed optimism about the future of the relationship with China.
“It is my expectation that we will solve many problems together, and starting immediately. We discussed balancing Trade, Fentanyl, TikTok, and many other subjects,” Trump wrote in a social media post.
“President Xi and I will do everything possible to make the World more peaceful and safe.”
The US Congress passed a bill last year to ban the video platform TikTok, which is owned by a Chinese parent company, citing perceived concerns about privacy and content manipulation.
But Trump aides have suggested that the president-elect is assessing options to save the popular platform from the federal ban.
Ties between Beijing and Washington have soured over numerous points of tension in recent years, including trade issues, the status of Taiwan, claims to the South China Sea and an ongoing US push to curb Chinese influence in the Asia Pacific region.
During his first term, Trump centred the competition with China in his foreign policy, often complaining that Beijing’s trade policies were unfair.
Washington has a significant trade deficit with Beijing. Last year, Chinese exports to the US totalled around $401bn, while its imports from the US amounted to $130bn.
Trump’s successor Joe Biden also prioritised the competition with China and tried to deepen US ties with allies in the Asia Pacific.
Over the past two years, the US has accused China of cyberattacks and flying a spy balloon over the country, allegations that Beijing has rejected.
In the most recent US National Security Strategy — a document produced every four years outlining the country’s international interests — the Biden administration called Beijing the “most consequential geopolitical challenge” for Washington.
It added that the US is “in the middle of a strategic competition to shape the future of the international order”.
Trump has appointed many China hawks to his incoming administration, including naming Senator Marco Rubio — who is under Chinese sanctions — to be his secretary of state, the top US diplomat.
During a Senate confirmation hearing earlier this week, Rubio called China the “biggest threat” to US prosperity.
“If we don’t change course, we are going to live in [a] world where much of what matters to us on a daily basis from our security to our health will be dependent on whether the Chinese allow us to have it or not,” he said.
Still, US and Chinese officials often stress that they are not seeking another Cold War.
“We view and handle China-US relations in line with the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation put forward by President Xi Jinping, and resolutely safeguard our own sovereignty, security, and development interests,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told reporters on Thursday.