US president-elect Donald Trump was earlier reported to have invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to his inauguration ceremony on January 20. - Photo: Reuters
BEIJING (Agencies): President Xi Jinping has spoken to US president-elect Donald Trump on the phone, Chinese state news agency Xinhua and international reports have said.
The phone call comes with just three days to go for Trump’s inauguration.
Beijing is sending Vice-President Han Zheng to attend the ceremony – the first time a senior Chinese official will be present at a US presidential inauguration.
China’s foreign ministry made the announcement on Friday morning, hours before the two leaders spoke.
“We stand ready to work with the new US government to enhance dialogue and communication, properly manage differences, expand mutually beneficial cooperation, jointly pursue a stable, healthy and sustainable China-US relationship, and find the right way for the two countries to get along,” the ministry said.
According to media reports in November, Trump had invited Xi to attend the ceremony on January 20.
The conversation comes ahead of Trump’s inauguration on Monday. The US-China relationship is expected to be one of the main focuses of Trump’s second term, with tensions between the two superpowers looming in the areas of trade, technology and the self-ruled island of Taiwan, among other things.
The president-elect confirmed on Truth Social that he had spoken with Xi and said "the call was a very good one for both China and the USA”.
Trump said they talked about trade, fentanyl and TikTok, among other things.
"President Xi and I will do everything possible to make the World more peaceful and safe!” he said.
Trump has threatened to slap tariffs of 60% on all Chinese imports into the U.S. But he has also in the past praised his relationship with Xi and has suggested China could help mediate international crises such as the war in Ukraine.
Xi will not attend Trump’s inauguration. China will be represented at the event by Vice President Han Zheng.
Trump said in a December interview on "Meet the Press” that he had been communicating with Xi since he won the election. Trump in the interview said he has "a very good relationship” with China’s leader.
He said they did had not discussed Taiwan but discussed other issues. - Agencies
