By Paul Jouvenet, essayist and consultant in international affairs. Eurasia Business News, January 17, 2025. Article no.1382.
Donald Trump and Xi Jinping in Beijing, on Nov. 9, 2017. The two spoke by phone on Friday.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping held a significant phone conversation today, marking their first direct communication since Trump’s departure from the White House in January 2021. The discussion occurred just days before Trump’s inauguration on January 20 and was confirmed by both sides, including China’s state media outlet Xinhua.
Donald Trump revealed about this phone talk in a Truth Social post Friday.
“I just spoke to Chairman Xi Jinping of China. The call was a very good one for both China and the U.S.A. It is my expectation that we will solve many problems together, and starting immediately,” Trump wrote. “We discussed balancing Trade, Fentanyl, TikTok, and many other subjects. President Xi and I will do everything possible to make the World more peaceful and safe!”
However, president elect Donald Trump is expected to impose nearly 40% tariffs on Chinese imports starting in early 2025. These restrictive measures will add pressurce on China’s GDP growth in 2025. China is a critical trading partner for the United States but is also a major competitor.
Global Conflicts: The leaders also touched upon broader geopolitical matters, including the situations in Ukraine and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Trump has previously acknowledged Xi’s potential role in mediating global conflicts.
Tone of the Call: Both leaders described the conversation as positive and beneficial for U.S.-China relations. Trump referred to it as a “very good” call and emphasized a desire to enhance global peace and security.
Upcoming Inauguration: The call took place shortly before Trump’s inauguration on January 20, with Chinese Vice President Han Zheng set to represent China at the ceremony. This marks a notable diplomatic gesture from Beijing as it seeks to manage its relationship with the incoming administration.
This conversation highlights an attempt to reset relations between the two countries, which have been strained over various issues during Trump’s previous term.
On January 3 the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) added to its sanctions list Integrity Technology Group, Incorporated (Integrity Tech), a Beijing-based cybersecurity company, for its role in multiple computer intrusion incidents against U.S. victims.
Regional Security Concerns: Trump’s foreign policy could lead to increased military tensions in regions like Taiwan and the South China Sea. His administration’s stance might embolden aggressive postures from China while simultaneously straining U.S. alliances in Asia. On the other side, a firmer stance against China would be welcomed, as Beijing became more aggressive towards Taiwan under the Biden presidency.
Fate of Taiwan under Trump presidency : The fate of Taiwan under President-elect Donald Trump‘s upcoming administration should be characterized by a mix of heightened military support and uncertainty regarding economic relations.
Analysts expect that Trump’s administration will maintain a strong security relationship with Taiwan, given the bipartisan support for Taiwan in Congress and the hawkish stances of potential cabinet nominees like Marco Rubio. This suggests a continuation of robust military support, although the specifics of this support remain somewhat unclear. Throughout 2024, China has intensified military pressure on Taiwan, conducting significant military drills and increasing naval deployments around the island.
In early January, Politico published a list of “black swans” for 2025, one of which was the Trump-Xi alliance. The material was prepared based on the scenarios of 15 futurologists, foreign policy analysts and other forecasters.
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In January 2024, The Washington Post (WP), citing sources, wrote that Trump had discussed with advisers the possibility of setting a 60% duty on imports from China if he won the presidential election. The publication reported that the Republican was preparing for a new large-scale trade war with China. According to WP, at that time, Trump had already publicly supported the downgrading of China’s trade status with the United States, which would lead to a sharp increase in tariffs between the two countries. It was noted that federal tariffs on Chinese imports will exceed 40%.
In November 2024, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said that in the event of a trade war between China and the United States under Trump, there would be no winners.
The last time Mr. Trump and Mr. Xi met was in 2019 at the G20 summit in Japan. During the presidential election in November 2024, Donald Trump said that he would be able to establish good relationships with China if Beijing and Washington can find common ground. Xi Jinping is also invited to the inauguration of the U.S. president-elect on January 20.
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© Copyright 2025 – Eurasia Business News. Article no. 1382.
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