Donald Trump said he had an exchange with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in recent days, the first clear indication of direct contact between the two men since the former US president’s reelection in November.

Trump said “we’ve had communication” as recently as last week, without specifying when that was or what was discussed. They last met in person in June 2019 on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Japan.

“I had an agreement with President Xi, who I got along with very well,” Trump said, referring to previous talks on curbing the flow of fentanyl into the US.

Trump’s remarks make clear that contacts at the highest level have resumed between Beijing and Trump’s camp. The exchange with Xi follows outreach by leaders of Washington’s top trading partners — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum — who both spoke with Trump last month following his public threats to impose tariffs in retaliation for illegal immigration and the trafficking of drugs like fentanyl.

The world’s two biggest economies are bracing for a renewed standoff after Trump promised during the campaign to apply 60% levies on goods imported from China, a level that would decimate trade between them.

The president-elect has named a number of high-profile China hawks to key posts in the administration. Last week, Trump nominated ex-Senator David Perdue as US ambassador to China.

Beijing is also ratcheting up trade tensions by banning the export of several materials with high-tech and military applications.

When asked about communication between the two leaders on Monday at a regular press conference in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning sidestepped the question, saying only that China’s policy toward the US was “consistent and clear.”

“We would like to work with the US under the principle of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and cooperation,” she said.

US-China ties have stabilized over the past year, with progress being made on curbing the flow of fentanyl. Even so, Trump last month accused Beijing of reneging on its pledges and threatened retribution for what he said was China’s failure to stop fentanyl from pouring into the US.

Following Trump’s election win, Xi sent him a congratulatory message and expressed the desire to keep relations “healthy and sustainable.”

The same month, Xi spelled out China’s “four red lines” in a meeting with President Joe Biden at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Lima, messaging widely seen as aimed at Trump.

The US must avoid any moves to undermine the Communist Party’s grip on power, push the nation toward democracy, contain its economic rise or encourage Taiwan’s independence, Xi warned.

Complex Ties

The relationship between Xi and Trump started out warmly during the former US president’s first-term in office. But it suffered through the trade war and the pandemic, when Trump referred to Covid-19 as the “Chinese Virus.”

Trump has made no secret of his admiration for Xi.

“He controls 1.4 billion people with an iron fist,” Trump told comedian and podcaster Joe Rogan in an interview before he was elected. “I mean, he’s a brilliant guy, whether you like it or not.”

AfriPrime App link:  FREE to download...

https://www.amazon.com/Africircle-AfriPrime/dp/B0D2M3F2JT

Trump asks China to help bring Ukraine peace, says he 'had communication' with Xi recently

US president-elect Donald Trump has suggested that China could play a key role in brokering peace between Russia and Ukraine, in comments that referenced the dramatic collapse of Bashar al-Assad's 50-year regime in Syria on Sunday.

"Too many lives are being so needlessly wasted, too many families destroyed, and if it keeps going, it can turn into something much bigger, and far worse. I know Vladimir well. This is his time to act. China can help. The World is waiting," Trump said in a social media post.

In an interview aired later on Sunday, Trump told NBC that he "got along very well" with Chinese President Xi Jinping and that the two leaders had "communication as recently as this week."

Trump talking about the US fentanyl crisis and how he could have prompted Xi to take a harder line against drug trafficking.

"I had an agreement with President Xi, who I got along with very well. We've had communication as recently as this week," Trump said, asserting that had the 2020 US election turned out differently, he could have persuaded China to impose the death penalty on anyone trafficking drugs into the US.

"Not that conversation, but I had other conversations. But in the past, I've had that conversation", Trump said when asked if he had discussed fentanyl in his most recent exchange with Xi.

Later in the interview, Trump said that Taiwan issue was also not discussed. "We have been communicating with each other, like three days ago", adding "we talked about other things".

The Chinese embassy in Washington declined to comment on any recent communication between Xi and Trump, saying only that Beijing "welcomes and supports all effort conducive to the peaceful settlement of the crisis".

"China stands ready to maintain communication with relevant parties, including the US, to promote continued effort in the international community to create conditions for the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis through dialogue and negotiations", embassy spokesman Liu Pengyu said in an emailed statement to the Post.

Last month, Xi spoke with Trump to congratulate him on his election victory, marking their first conversation since the US presidential polls.

In a statement from China's Foreign Ministry on November 6, Xi told Trump that both countries would "benefit from cooperation and lose from confrontation," stressing that stable ties serve the interests of both nations and meet "the expectations of the international community."

Beijing has deepened its ties with Russia's President Vladimir Putin since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, describing the bilateral relationship as a "no limits" partnership.

The outgoing US administration of US President Joe Biden has repeatedly accused Beijing of aiding Russia's "war machine" - a charge China has denied.

In May, Beijing unveiled a six-point peace proposal for Ukraine, jointly with Brazil, calling for a halt to any escalation on either side, a peace conference and humanitarian aid.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky walks with French President Emmanuel Macro and US president-elect Donald Trump before a trilateral meeting in Paris on Saturday. 

The proposal was rejected by the US and its allies because it included no mention of Ukraine's territorial integrity.

Positioning itself as a neutral mediator, China's Special Representative for Eurasian Affairs, Li Hui, has conducted multiple rounds of shuttle diplomacy to rally support for Beijing's proposal.

During his August visit to Brazil, Li claimed the plan had "gained the support of more than 110 countries." He has made similar diplomatic trips to Europe and the Middle East.

While Beijing skipped a peace summit held in Switzerland in June, it hosted Ukraine's then-defence minister Dmytro Kuleba in July.

That same month Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he hoped that Beijing would assert greater pressure on Moscow to end the war.

"If China wants to, it can force Russia to stop this war. I do not want [China] to act as a mediator. I would like it to put pressure on Russia to put an end to this war," Zelensky told a news conference.

During his presidential campaign, Trump pledged to end the Ukraine war within "24 hours" of taking the White House, without offering any insights on how he planned to do so.

He will be inaugurated on January 20, but has already started diplomatic efforts to make good on this goal.

Trump met with Zelensky on Saturday, before the reopening of Notre Dame cathedral in Paris - his first international trip since winning the presidential election in November.

"Zelensky and Ukraine would like to make a deal and stop the madness. They have ridiculously lost 400,000 soldiers, and many more civilians. There should be an immediate ceasefire and negotiations should begin", Trump said in his social media post on Sunday.

The US president-elect added that Russia has "lost all interest in Syria because of Ukraine, where close to 600,000 Russian soldiers lay wounded or dead, in a war that should never have started, and could go on forever".

He claimed that "Russia and Iran are in a weakened state right now, one because of Ukraine and a bad economy, the other because of Israel and its fighting success".

In November, Trump held his first conversation with Putin since winning the election, when the two men discussed the ongoing war in Ukraine.

During the call, Trump urged President Putin not to escalate the conflict and reminded him of the significant US military presence in Europe.

A similar call was also held last month with Zelensky from Mar-a-Lago, Trump's private resort in Florida.

Trump's close aide, the billionaire businessman Elon Musk reportedly also joined the call briefly. Musk's Starlink satellite has helped provide interest access in Ukraine since the war began.

Zelensky later posted on social media that he had an "excellent" call with Trump. He made no mention of Musk.

Shortly after a face-to-face chat with Trump on Saturday, Zelensky described it as a "good and productive trilateral meeting" in a post on social media.

"We all want this war to end as soon as possible and in a just way," he said, adding that "President Trump is, as always, resolute."

Just hours later, the Biden administration announced a new US$1 billion military aid package for Ukraine.

Trump himself and members of his incoming administration have repeatedly questioned US aid to Ukraine.

"How does that actually advance a purpose that serves the US taxpayer in the best interests of the United States of America?" Vivek Ramaswamy, co-chair of Trump's commission to cut government spending alongside Elon Musk, said last week about US foreign aid.

AfriPrime App link:  FREE to download...

https://www.amazon.com/Africircle-AfriPrime/dp/B0D2M3F2JT