“History has shown that China and the United States benefit from cooperation and lose from confrontation,” the Chinese head of state told the American president-elect, according to a report published by the Chinese state television CCTV. “A stable, healthy and lasting China-US relationship is in line with the common interests of the two countries and the expectations of the international community,” Xi Jinping said. These are the first comments from the Chinese president since the victory of the Republican candidate.
Donald Trump, like his Democratic rival Kamala Harris, campaigned promising to put pressure on China. The Republican tycoon had upped the ante, promising to impose customs duties of 60% on all Chinese products entering the United States.
“Mutual respect”
Donald Trump wants to “restore a certain balance in trade between the United States and China,” Yun Sun, co-director of the China and East Asia program at the Stimson Center think tank in Washington, told AFP. . “Given his penchant for exercising maximum pressure “before we make a deal, I expect him to impose these tariffs,” she said.
Xi Jinping expressed to Donald Trump on Thursday his hope that the two countries would “uphold the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation,” according to CCTV. He called on Washington and Beijing to “strengthen dialogue and communication, properly manage their differences, develop mutually beneficial cooperation, and find a correct way for China and the United States to get along in this new era.” , in the interest of both countries and the world.
Xi Jinping and Donald Trump have already met four times and the American president-elect recently praised his “very strong relationship” with the Chinese leader. He even claimed that he would be able to dissuade it from launching a military operation against Taiwan… by imposing customs duties of 150% on Chinese products.
Recovery plan
Donald Trump’s victory in any case opens a period of uncertainty for Sino-American economic relations, severely shaken during the first term (2017-2021) of the elected president, when he launched a trade war against Beijing.
Can the Chinese economy afford a similar new scenario? Because China is already struggling with a laborious post-Covid recovery, weighed down by sluggish consumption and a severe real estate crisis, with a number of developers in debt and prices which have plunged in recent years.
In this context, the main officials of the Chinese Parliament are meeting this week in Beijing, in particular to develop an economic recovery plan. Many analysts believe that Donald Trump’s victory could push Chinese leaders to strengthen this program of measures, in particular to compensate for future customs surcharges promised by Donald Trump.
