By Petra Williams

On the evening of January 17, 2025, three days before Trump returned to the White House, President Xi Jinping received a phone call from U.S. President-Elect Donald J. Trump, the first call since Trump left office in 2021.

President Xi congratulated Trump on his reelection as President of the United States and noted that they both attach great importance to their interactions.
He expressed his readiness to secure more significant progress in China-U.S. relations from a new starting point. He looked forward to a “good start of the China-U.S. relationship during the new U.S. presidency.”

President Xi stressed that the two great nations, China and the United States, are pursuing their respective dreams and are committed to improving the lives of their citizens.

President Xi pointed out that while the two countries, with different national conditions and philosophical outlooks, may disagree on some issues, the important thing is to respect each other’s core interests and major concerns and work towards solutions.

President-Elect Trump thanked President Xi for the congratulations and said he values their relations highly. He looked forward to continued dialogue and open communication and indicated interest in meeting with President Xi soon.

He stated, ‘It is my expectation that we will solve many problems together. We discussed balancing Trade, Fentanyl, TikTok, and many other subjects,” Trump wrote in a social media post on his Truth Social platform.

“President Xi and I will do everything possible to make the World more peaceful and safe.”
The US Supreme Court recently upheld the US Congress Bill passed last year to ban the video platform TikTok, which a Chinese parent company owns. The court cited perceived concerns about privacy and content manipulation. According to China’s Xinhua News Agency The two leaders also exchanged views on Taiwan and trade between both countries, the Ukraine crisis, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and other major international and regional issues of mutual interest.

They agreed to establish a strategic communication channel to communicate regularly on significant matters of shared interest.

China’s foreign affairs is optimistic that the two sides can adequately manage differences to promote healthy bilateral ties. 2 Given their extensive common interests and broad space for cooperation, establishing more friendly relations between China and the United States would be a boon to global affairs.

This would result in shared prosperity for the good of the two countries and the world. Vice President Han Zheng will represent China as Xi’s special representative at Trump’s inauguration.