Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President-elect Donald Trump expressed hope for “a good start” to Sino-U.S. relations during the new U.S. presidency in their telephone talks Friday ahead of Trump’s inauguration next week, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
Trump said in a social media post that the teleconference was “a very good one” for the world’s two largest economies. “President Xi and I will do everything possible to make the World more peaceful and safe!” he said.
Xi said both he and Trump, who will be sworn in for a nonconsecutive second term in the White House on Monday, “attach great importance” to their interactions and the two countries can become “partners and friends,” given their extensive common interests and the broad space for cooperation, the ministry said.
The Chinese leader said the bilateral economic ties are essentially “mutually beneficial and win-win” and that “confrontation and conflict should not be an option for the two countries,” according to the ministry.
On Taiwan, a self-ruled democratic island which Beijing regards as its own, Xi said the issue concerns China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and urged Washington to “approach it with prudence.”
Trump said on his Truth Social platform that he discussed many subjects with Xi, including balancing trade, fentanyl, which is the leading cause of U.S. overdose deaths, and TikTok, a short-form video-sharing platform owned by Chinese firm ByteDance Ltd. that could face a ban in the United States.
“It is my expectation that we will solve many problems together, and starting immediately,” Trump said.
Trump told Xi that he looked forward to meeting with him soon, and the two exchanged views on the Ukraine crisis and the Hamas-Israel conflict, as well as other major international and regional issues, the Chinese ministry said.
They also agreed to establish a channel of strategic communication for regular contact on issues of shared interest, it added.
The ministry said earlier in the day that Vice President Han Zheng will attend Trump’s inauguration next week.
Xi sent a congratulatory message to Trump on winning the U.S. presidential election in November and said at the time that “stable, sound and sustainable China-U.S. relations serve the interests of both countries,” according to the ministry.
Related coverage:
Trump’s pick for top diplomat Rubio urges China not to destabilize Asia
Japan working toward Ishiba-Trump meeting in U.S. before mid-February
OPINION: Tune in to American populists
