China’s top diplomat said on Dec. 17 that he hoped the incoming Trump administration would “make the right choice” and work with Beijing, hours after Donald Trump told reporters the COVID-19 pandemic had strained his relationship with “friend” Xi Jinping.
“We hope the new U.S. administration will make the right choice and work with China in a mutually-beneficial manner to remove disruptions and overcome obstacles,” Foreign Minister Wang Yi told a forum in Beijing, according to a statement from his ministry.
The remarks followed President-elect Trump telling his first news conference since his election victory six weeks ago that Chinese President Xi Jinping had been a friend of his and that “he is an amazing guy” but that relations had been strained.
“We had a very good relationship until COVID,” Trump told reporters gathered at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Dec. 16 when asked whether Xi would attend his inauguration. “COVID didn’t end the relationship, but it was a bridge too far for me.”
The two superpowers have been setting our their positions ahead of the former president’s return to the White House. Trump’s first term resulted in a trade war that uprooted global supply chains and hurt almost every economy as inflation and borrowing costs shot up.
Trump has indicated he plans to pick up where he left off with Beijing, and has vowed to impose an additional 10% tariff on Chinese goods to push China to do more to stop fentanyl flows into the U.S.
He also previously pledged to end China’s most-favored-nation trading status and slap tariffs on Chinese imports in excess of 60% – much higher than those imposed during his first term.
In response, China is seeking to amass bargaining chips to kick off talks with a new U.S. administration on contentious aspects of bilateral ties, including trade and investment, and science and technology, analysts say.
“China and the United States can together solve all of the problems of the world if you think about it,” Trump said. “So it’s very important, and he was a friend of mine.”
That said, Trump has nominated China hardliners to key diplomatic and economic roles in his administration, signaling his policy toward the U.S.’ main strategic rival could be even more confrontational than during his first term.
But China is equally ready to get toe-to-toe with the Trump administration.
Wang told delegates that Beijing “firmly opposes the illegal and unreasonable suppression of China by the U.S. and, in particular, must respond firmly and forcefully to the U.S.’ brutal interference in China’s internal affairs, such as Taiwan.”
(Reporting by Joe Cash, Liz Lee and Ethan Wang)
