“It is my hope that we will solve many problems together,” the incoming US president said after a call with Xi Jinping.
US President-elect Donald Trump says he had a “good” phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping, implying that Washington and Beijing are working to resolve various issues going forward.
The call on Friday came three days before Trump – who has promised to set tariffs as low as 60 percent From China – will return to the White House.
Trump's trade policies could strain the relationship between the US and China. Higher tariffs on Chinese goods could raise prices for US consumers, damage China's economy and trigger a trade war between the two countries.
But the incoming US president expressed optimism for the future of relations with China.
“It is my hope that we will solve many problems together, starting immediately. We talked about balancing Trade, Fentanyl, TikTok, and many other issues,” Trump wrote in a social media post. post.
“President Xi and I will do our best to make the world more peaceful and secure.”
The US Congress passed a resolution last year to ban TikTok, which is owned by its Chinese parent company, citing concerns over perceived privacy and content disruption.
But Trump supporters say the president-elect is evaluating options saving the popular platform from federal ban.
Relations between Beijing and Washington have been strained by a series of tensions in recent years, including trade issues, Taiwan's responsibilityclaims in the South China Sea and the continued efforts of the US to curb China's influence in the Asia Pacific region.
During his first term, Trump made competition with China central to his foreign policy, often complaining that Beijing's trade policies were unfair.
Washington has a serious trade dispute with Beijing. Last year, China's exports to the US totaled nearly $401bn, while imports from the US reached $130bn.
Trump's successor Joe Biden has also prioritized competition with China and attempts to deepen the US connecting with friends in Asia Pacific.
Over the past two years, the US has criticized China for cyber attacks and drone strikes spy balloon in the country, saying that Beijing has refused.
In the most recent US National Security Strategy – a document produced every four years outlining global interests – the Biden administration called Beijing “the biggest political problem” in Washington.
It added that the US is “in the midst of a race to shape the future of the international system”.
Trump has appointed a number of China hawks to his incoming administration, including naming a Senator Marco Rubio – who is under Chinese sanctions – to be his secretary of state, the US ambassador.
During a Senate confirmation hearing earlier this week, Mr. Rubio called China the “biggest threat” to US prosperity.
“If we don't change, we will live in a country where most of the things that affect us every day, from our security to our health, depend on whether the Chinese allow us to have it or not,” he said.
However, US and Chinese officials have often emphasized that they do not want to another Cold War.
“We view and maintain China-US relations in accordance with the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation proposed by President Xi Jinping, and vigorously safeguard our freedom, security and development,” the Ministry of Finance of China said. Spokesman Guo Jiakun told reporters on Thursday.