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Orange Wang

China has confirmed for the first time that President Xi Jinping has been communicating with US president-elect Donald Trump in the lead-up to this month’s inauguration.
The news came a day after Trump told American conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt on Monday that he and Xi had already been talking through representatives and expected that they “will probably get along very well”.
When asked about those statements on Tuesday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said that Beijing “attaches importance” to Trump’s comments.
“China and the US have maintained communication through various means,” he said.
“China stands ready to work with the US under the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation to advance the stable, healthy and sustainable growth of China-US relations for the benefit of the two countries and the world.”
It was not the first time since winning the November election that Trump had indicated he was in contact with the Chinese leader.
However, until Tuesday, Beijing had not confirmed any backchannel diplomacy between the two sides, except a congratulatory message to Trump soon after the election.
During the interview on Monday, Trump said the US-China relationship must be a “two-way street”, adding that “China is ripping off the United States for a trillion dollars a year”.
In response, Guo said China believed the economic and trade cooperation between the two countries was “win-win” in nature.
“Between China and the US, one country’s success is an opportunity for the other, and one country’s development is a boost for the other,” he added.
Also on Tuesday, outgoing US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen held a virtual meeting with Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng, the country’s top finance official. During the meeting, the two sides “agreed about the importance of communication and contact”, according to the US Department of the Treasury.
The two sides also agreed to “maintain communication, manage differences and continue to stabilise the China-US economic relationship during the transition period”, a Chinese statement said.


Trump’s team confirmed on December 12 that the president-elect had invited Xi to his January 20 inauguration. About a week earlier, Trump told NBC News he had recently spoken to Xi.
Beijing did not comment on those claims. But China has sent signals in recent weeks about the tone of its policy towards the future Trump administration.
On December 10, Xi said he wanted to “maintain dialogue” but warned that there would be “no winners” in a tariff or tech war.
A week later, China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, said that “as long as China and the US cooperate with each other, they can accomplish many great things together”. He added that China “firmly opposes the illegal and unreasonable suppression by the US side”.
When meeting Harvard University professor Graham Allison on December 19, Wang Huning, China’s No 4 official, said Beijing’s approach towards Washington had been “consistent and stable”. Wang added that the two nations should strengthen communication and “help each other succeed through cooperation”.
According to analysts, Beijing’s efforts to connect with Trump and his senior aides in the wake of the election will be critical for shaping the direction of bilateral relations in the short term after Trump returns to the Oval Office, though they note they are unlikely to have a far-reaching impact in the long term.
Some experts said that the first 100 days of Trump’s second term would serve as an important window of opportunity for the Chinese leadership to foster contact with Trump in a bid to avoid an immediate spike in tensions.


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US president-elect Donald Trump (left) and Chinese President Xi Jinping, shown here in 2017, have been communicating ahead of the US presidential inauguration, according to Beijing. Photo: TNS

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 Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

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News

China

Diplomacy

The news comes a day after US president-elect says he and Chinese leader have been communicating and will ‘probably get along very well’


The news comes a day after US president-elect says he and Chinese leader have been communicating and will ‘probably get along very well’.
