Trump and China’s Xi discuss trade, TikTok ahead of inauguration

    • “President Xi and I will do everything possible to make the World more peaceful and safe!” US President-elect Donald Trump wrote in social media.
    • “President Xi and I will do everything possible to make the World more peaceful and safe!” US President-elect Donald Trump wrote in social media. PHOTO: AFP
    Published Fri, Jan 17, 2025 · 11:15 PM

    PRESIDENT-elect Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed trade, TikTok and fentanyl on Friday (Jan 17) in a pre-inauguration conversation that could set the tone for relations between the world’s two largest economies and main geopolitical rivals.

    “I just spoke to chairman Xi Jinping of China,” Trump posted on social media. “The call was a very good one for both China and the USA.”

    The conversation between the leaders of the top global powers comes days ahead of Trump’s return to the White House, from where he targeted Beijing aggressively in his first term over trade issues. The president-elect and his incoming administration have signalled they intend to continue that into the second term.

    “President Xi and I will do everything possible to make the World more peaceful and safe!” he wrote.

    A statement from China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as a report in state-run media, didn’t provide details. The call came hours after China said Xi will skip Trump’s inauguration on Monday but will send vice-president Han Zheng instead.

    “This is certainly an important gesture from both sides to rebuild their working relationship, and it also suggests that the two sides want to pursue constructive engagement down the road,” said Wu Xinbo, director at Fudan University’s Center for American Studies in Shanghai.

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    While Trump has praised Xi as a powerful and “brilliant” leader, he’s pledged to hit China with massive tariffs of around 60 per cent on a wide range of goods.

    During his first administration, Trump started a disruptive trade war with China that reshaped the global economy. Combined with the Covid-19 pandemic, Trump’s trade agenda also helped reorder global supply chains – and was largely continued by the Biden administration, which used export curbs to try denying China access to cutting-edge technology.

    Although it’s less clear which direction Trump will take the China relationship this time, his new administration has some prominent China hawks, including Marco Rubio, the president’s choice to lead the US State Department. His pick for Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, on Thursday described it as the most imbalanced economy in the world, where the military is put first and where authorities are trying to export cheap goods to the rest of the world as a way to keep growth afloat.

    While Trump comes into office with an economy outperforming most rivals, with a surprisingly strong consumption and labour market along with mellowing inflation, Xi is facing a tougher road ahead.

    China’s economy grew more than expected last year at 5 per cent, official data showed this week, an expansion mainly powered by trade while consumption growth languished, property investment contracted by the most on record and deflation persisted for a second straight year.

    China’s currency has dropped more than 5 per cent against the US dollar since a late September high in the face of Trump’s tariff threats.

    Outgoing Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has been warning that China is exporting its industrial “overcapacity,” which she said threatens industries and jobs globally. Bessent, speaking at his confirmation hearing on Thursday, said China was “attempting to export their way out” of what he called “a severe recession, if not depression.” BLOOMBERG

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