China’s top diplomat yesterday said that he hoped the incoming administration of US president-elect Donald Trump would “make the right choice” and work with Beijing, hours after Trump told reporters the COVID-19 pandemic had strained his relationship with his “friend” Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平).
“We hope the new US administration will make the right choice and work with China in a mutually-beneficial manner to remove disruptions and overcome obstacles,” Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) told a forum in Beijing, according to a statement from the ministry.
The remarks followed Trump telling his first news conference since his election victory six weeks ago that Xi had been a friend of his and that “he is an amazing guy,” but that relations had been strained.
Photo: AFP
“We had a very good relationship until COVID,” Trump told reporters gathered at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Monday 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 superpower have been setting out their positions ahead of the former president’s return to the White House. Trump’s first term resulted in a trade dispute that uprooted global supply chains, and hurt almost every economy as inflation and borrowing costs shot up.
Trump has indicated that he plans to pick up where he left off with Beijing, and has vowed to impose an additional 10 percent tariff on Chinese goods to push China to do more to stop fentanyl flows into the US.
He also previously pledged to end China’s most-favored-nation trading status and slap tariffs on Chinese imports in excess of 60 percent — much higher than those imposed during his first term.
In response, China is seeking to amass bargaining chips to commence talks with a new US administration on contentious aspects of bilateral ties, including trade and investment, as well as 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 US’ main strategic rival could be even more confrontational than during his first term, but China is equally ready to go toe-to-toe with the Trump administration.
Wang told delegates that Beijing “firmly opposes the illegal and unreasonable suppression of China by the US and, in particular, must respond firmly and forcefully to the US’ brutal interference in China’s internal affairs, such as Taiwan.”
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