The incoming US president and his Chinese counterpart had not spoken since 2021
US President-elect Donald Trump has spoken to Chinese President Xi Jinping by phone. According to Trump, the two leaders discussed trade, fentanyl, and the impending sale or shutdown of TikTok.
“I just spoke to Chairman Xi Jinping of China,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Friday, adding that “the call was a very good one for both China and the USA.”
“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 continued. “President Xi and I will do everything possible to make the World more peaceful and safe!”
Chinese state media confirmed that the call had taken place, but provided no further details.
Trump and Xi have not spoken since the end of Trump’s first term in 2021. Relations between Washington and Beijing were strained during the president-elect’s first stint in the White House, with the US sanctioning Chinese tech giant Huawei and sparking a trade war by setting tariffs on Chinese imports.
Trump has also accused China of failing to crack down on the export of fentanyl – a deadly synthetic opioid – to the US, and has vowed to levy an additional 10% tariff on all Chinese imports until Beijing “follows through” on punishing fentanyl dealers and manufacturers.
The call took place two days before TikTok is set to go dark for millions of American users. Legislation signed by President Joe Biden last year requires ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, to divest from its US operations by January 19, 2025, or be blocked from US internet infrastructure and app stores.
The US Supreme Court has yet to issue a ruling on TikTok’s appeal against the law, while Trump – who credits the app with helping him win the youth vote in November – is reportedly mulling an executive order to delay the enforcement of the ban.
Despite Trump’s multiple grievances with Beijing, the incoming president has repeatedly boasted of his “special relationship” with Xi. Trump invited Xi to his inauguration, and while the Chinese president will not attend Monday’s ceremony, the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced on Friday that Vice President Han Zheng will travel to Washington to watch Trump be sworn in.
“We stand ready to work with the new US government to enhance dialogue and communication, properly manage differences, expand mutually beneficial cooperation, jointly pursue a stable, healthy and sustainable China-US relations and find the right way for the two countries to get along with each other,” a ministry spokesperson said.
