“I have the expectation that together we will solve many problems,” says the incoming US president after a call with Xi Jinping.
US 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 several 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 imports, returns to the White House.
Trump’s trade policies may deteriorate already strained ties between the United States 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 the relationship with China.
“I have the expectation that we will solve many problems together and starting immediately. We discussed how to balance trade, fentanyl, TikTok and many other issues,” Trump wrote on a social network. mail.
“President Xi and I will do everything we can to make the world more peaceful and secure.”
The US Congress passed a bill last year to ban the video platform TikTok, owned by a Chinese parent company, citing perceived concerns about privacy and content manipulation.
But Trump advisers have suggested the president-elect is weighing options to save the popular platform from a federal ban.
Ties between Beijing and Washington have deteriorated over numerous points of tension in recent years, including trade issues, the status of Taiwan, claims over the South China Sea and an ongoing US effort to curb Chinese influence in the Asia Pacific region.
During his first term, Trump focused competition with China on 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 United States amounted to around $401 billion, while its imports from the United States amounted to $130 billion.
Trump’s successor, Joe Biden, also prioritized competition with China and sought to deepen US ties with allies in the Asia Pacific.
Over the past two years, the United States has accused China of cyberattacks and flying a spy balloon over the country, accusations Beijing has rejected.
In the most recent US National Security Strategy (a document produced every four years that outlines the country’s international interests), the Biden administration called Beijing the “most consequential geopolitical challenge” for Washington.
He added that the United States is “in the midst of a strategic competition to shape the future of the international order.”
Trump has named many China hawks to his incoming administration, including naming Sen. Marco Rubio, who is under Chinese sanctions, as his secretary of state, America’s top diplomat.
During a Senate confirmation hearing earlier this week, Rubio called China the “biggest threat” to American prosperity.
“If we don’t change course, we are going to live in a world where much of what matters to us every day, from our safety to our health, will depend on whether the Chinese allow us to have it or not. “, said.
Still, American and Chinese officials often emphasize that they are not seeking another Cold War.
“We view and manage China-U.S. relations in accordance with the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and mutually beneficial cooperation put forward by President Xi Jinping, and resolutely safeguard our own sovereignty, security and development interests,” said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China. spokesman Guo Jiakun told reporters Thursday.
