Trump Speaks To Xi Jinping About ‘Trade, Fentanyl, TikTok’
President-elect Donald Trump said on Friday that he had a “very good” call with Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping discussing major issues between the countries as Trump prepares to hit the ground running in his second term.
According to Trump, the two leaders addressed “balancing Trade, Fentanyl, TikTok, and many other subjects. ” The incoming Trump administration’s relationship with China will be in the spotlight after Trump is sworn in on Monday. On the campaign trail, Trump vowed to levy 60% tariffs on goods from China, a significant increase from his first term.
Trump also said he discussed the controversial Chinese-owned social media platform TikTok with Xi just before the Supreme Court ruled on Friday morning that the TikTok ban passed by Congress could go into effect this weekend. Trump is reportedly considering an executive order to allow TikTok to continue operating in the U.S. Following the Supreme Court’s ruling, if TikTok’s parent company — China-based ByteDance — does not sell the social media platform, the ban will go into effect on Sunday, January 19.
“I just spoke to Chairman Xi Jinping of China. The call was a very good one for both China and the U.S.A,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “It is my expectation that we will solve many problems together, and starting immediately. 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!”
China will send its vice president, Han Zheng, to Trump’s inauguration after the president-elect invited Xi to attend. Zheng’s appearance will mark the first time a high-ranking Chinese official will be in attendance at an inauguration, The Washington Post reported.
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China’s state-run media did not provide details about Xi’s phone conversation with Trump, but the communist country’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement, “We stand ready to work with the new U.S. government to enhance dialogue and communication … and find the right way for the two countries to get along with each other.”
After winning the election in November, Trump appeared to dial back his tariff threat on China, saying he would only raise tariffs on Chinese goods by 10% unless the country stops the flow of illegal drugs into the U.S.
Fentanyl trafficking is the main Chinese drug export and a problem the president-elect has promised to address. According to a 2020 report from the Drug Enforcement Agency, China is “the primary source of fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances trafficked through international mail and express consignment operations environment, as well as the main source for all fentanyl-related substances trafficked into the United States.”