Trump Talks With Chinese President Xi, Says Leaders Will Make World ‘More Peaceful’ | News about Donald Trump
“I expect that we will solve many problems together,” said the future US president after his meeting with Xi Jinping.
United States President-elect Donald Trump says he had a “good” phone conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping, suggesting that Washington and Beijing will work to resolve various issues in the future.
Friday’s call came three days before Trump – who has promised to impose steep tariffs of up to 60 percent on Chinese import — returns to the White House.
Trump’s trade policies could worsen already strained ties between the US and China. High tariffs on Chinese goods could raise prices for American consumers, hurt China’s economy and trigger a trade war between the two countries.
But the incoming US president expressed optimism about the future of relations with China.
“I expect that we will solve many problems together, and immediately. We talked about balancing trade, fentanyl, TikTok and many other topics,” Trump wrote on the social network publish.
“President Xi and I will do everything possible to make the world more peaceful and secure.”
Last year, the US Congress passed a law to ban the video platform TikTok, which is owned by a Chinese parent company, citing concerns about privacy and manipulation of content.
But Trump aides suggested the president-elect did evaluation of options save the popular platform from a federal ban.
Ties between Beijing and Washington have soured over a number of points of tension in recent years, including trade issues, the status of Taiwanclaims to the South China Sea and the ongoing US effort to contain Chinese influence in the Asia-Pacific region.
During his first term, Trump competed 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 amounted to about 401 billion dollars, while imports from the US amounted to 130 billion dollars.
Trump’s successor, Joe Biden, also prioritized competition with China and sought to deepen the US ties with allies in Asia and the Pacific.
In the past two years, the US has accused China of cyberattacks and airstrikes spy balloon over the country, accusations that Beijing has rejected.
In the latest US National Security Strategy — a document drawn up every four years that outlines the country’s international interests — the Biden administration called Beijing Washington’s “most consequential geopolitical challenge.”
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 appointing senators Marco Rubio — which is under Chinese sanctions — to be its secretary of state, America’s top diplomat.
During his Senate confirmation hearing earlier this week, Rubio called China the “greatest threat” to US prosperity.
“If we don’t change course, we will live in [a] a world where much of what is important to us every day, from our security to our health, will depend on whether or not the Chinese allow us to have it,” he said.
However, US and Chinese officials often emphasize that they are not looking another cold war.
“We observe and manage Sino-US relations in accordance with the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and cooperation for the benefit of all parties put forward by President Xi Jinping, and resolutely protect our own sovereignty, security and development interests,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said. told reporters on Thursday.
