Xi and Trump Speak Via Phone

On Friday, January 17, General Secretary Xi Jinping and President-elect Donald Trump spoke via phone in advance of Trump’s inauguration next week. The call is believed to be the first direct contact between the two since Trump left office in 2021, although they have communicated via intermediaries since the American election in November.

Both the official readout of the call by the Chinese government and Trump’s post on the Truth Social media site frame the call as friendly and productive. But they differ in details. According to Trump, the two “discussed balancing trade, fentanyl, TikTok, and many other subjects.” In contrast, the official Chinese government statement indicates the two discussed Taiwan, trade, Ukraine, and the Israel-Palestinian conflict. It also notes that Xi emphasized the importance for each country of respecting the core interests of the other, flagging the issue of Taiwan as intertwined with China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. And it states that Trump expressed the interest in meeting with Xi in person as soon as possible.

Compared with eight years ago, Trump and Xi appear to be to signaling interest in warmer personal relations. In November 2016, Xi extended a call to Trump to congratulate him on his election.  But the official Chinese state readout of that call suggests a far more anodyne exchange of pleasantries, lacking discussion of substantive issues. And on December 2, 2016, then President-elect Trump broke with decades of precedent to take a direct phone call from President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan, in a move formally criticized by Beijing. 

Chinese authorities also announced today that Vice President Han Zheng (formerly a Politburo Standing Committee Member from 2017 to 2022) will be attending Trump’s inauguration as a personal representative of Xi, who Trump had invited to attend his inauguration in person after his electoral victory in November. Han’s visit marks the first time a top Chinese leader will attend a U.S. presidential inauguration.