Xi congratulates Trump; says China, US must cooperate

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday congratulated President-elect Donald Trump on his election victory and called for China and the United States to find the right way to manage the differences by strengthening dialogue and communication.

IMAGE: Then US President Donald Trump attends a bilateral meeting with China's President Xi Jinping during the G20 leaders summit in Osaka, Japan, on June 29, 2019. Photograph: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

Trump won the US presidential election for a second term on Wednesday in one of the most remarkable comebacks in American electoral history.

Xi, in his congratulatory message to Trump, called for the two countries to strengthen dialogue and communication, properly manage differences and expand mutually beneficial cooperation, official media reports in Beijing said.

"I urge China and the US to expand mutually beneficial cooperation," Xi said.

"I call for the right way for China, and the US to get along in the new era," he said, adding that both the countries, the top two economies of the world, should strengthen dialogue and communication.

History teaches that China and the United States gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation, Xi said, noting that a stable, sound and sustainable China-US relationship serves the two countries' shared interests and meets the aspirations of the international community.

He expressed the hope that the two sides will uphold the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation, strengthen dialogue and communication, properly manage differences and expand mutually beneficial cooperation.

Also on Thursday, Chinese Vice President Han Zheng congratulated J D Vance on his election as vice president of the United States, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

As the results of the US presidential elections poured in on Wednesday pointing to a sweeping victory for Trump, who pursued a tough policy against China in his first term including clamping tariffs on over $380 billion Chinese exports to the US, Beijing reacted guardedly and said that it respects the choice of the American people.

Our policy towards the United States has been consistent and we will continue to view and handle the China-US relations in accordance with the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a media briefing in Beijing.

She dismissed the question on Trump's campaign promise to sharply raise tariffs on Chinese imports, higher than his first term.

"We do not respond to hypothetical questions," she said.

The return of Trump as US President for a second term after a gap of four years has increased Beijing's anxieties especially when the Chinese economy faced a serious slowdown resulting in a declining growth rate and business environment with job losses and increased unemployment.

In its flash editorial on Trump's re-election, state-run China Daily said his victory 'could mark a new beginning in the China-US relations if the chance that has been offered is not wasted'.

'The upcoming four years will provide new opportunities for the next US administration to take the overall picture of the China-US ties into account and strengthen dialogue and communication with China to properly handle the differences that exist between the world's two largest economies, which range from the Taiwan question to trade, and to the South China Sea,' it said.

In his first term, Trump launched a trade war against China by imposing tariffs on over $380 billion on Chinese imports in 2018-19, saying that China is ripping off America. His successor Joe Biden has continued the tariffs, denting China's profits. During his campaign, Trump threatened to impose over 60 per cent tariffs on Chinese imports which last year accounted for $427.2 billion.

The China-US relations became tense over a host of policies pursued by Trump including blocking Chinese tech.

He also blamed China for the Covid-19 pandemic, saying that the virus emanated from a bio-lab in Wuhan.

The military relations between the two countries also remained tense under Trump's previous presidency.