The incoming president wants to improve ties with Xi Jinping after threatening to impose tough trade tariffs on Beijing, according to the report.
US President-elect Donald Trump wants to visit China in his first 100 days in office to improve relations with Xi Jinping, amid the prospect of a new trade war, the Wall Avenue Journal reported on Saturday, citing sources.
The trip would aim to deepen ties with the Chinese leader in the face of geopolitical tensions between the two countries fueled by the standoff over the autonomous island of Taiwan and Trump’s promise to impose tariffs on Chinese imports. However, although people familiar with the matter told the newspaper that Trump has expressed some interest in going, no final decision has been made.
On Friday, Trump and Xi spoke by phone to discuss a range of topics, including trade, Taiwan and the situation with the Chinese-owned social media platform Tiktok, which shut down in the United States due to an impending federal ban. However, it is unclear whether the president-elect raised the idea of a visit to China during the call. At the same time, the two delegated discussions about a possible in-person meeting to their assistants, the WSJ said.
In addition to China, Trump also expressed interest in a possible trip to India, sources said. However, his immediate attention is said to be focused on domestic issues, including the border crisis and the wildfires in California.
During his first term, Trump traveled to Beijing in late 2017, more than nine months after taking office. The four years of the Trump administration have been marred by a tense standoff with China, with the president-elect imposing tariffs on millions of dollars of Chinese goods. His administration also called China “a currency manipulator” and imposed tough restrictions on Chinese tech giants such as Huawei and ZTE, citing national security risks.
During the election campaign, Trump proposed a 60% tariff on Chinese imports. In response to a possible increase, Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce Wang Shouwen warned that the restrictions could backfire, forcing American consumers to pay higher prices. Meanwhile, he added, China could weather the impact of such “External shocks”.
