US President-Elect Donald Trump, China's Xi Jinping Speak On Phone Ahead Of Inauguration

Beijing: US President-elect Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping were speaking on the phone late Friday, China's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The conversation comes ahead of Trump's inauguration on Monday. The US-China relationship is expected to be one of the main focuses of Trump's second term, with tensions between the two superpowers looming in the areas of trade, technology and the self-ruled island of Taiwan, among other things.

The president-elect confirmed on Truth Social that he had spoken with Xi and said "the call was a very good one for both China and the USA." Trump said they talked about trade, fentanyl and TikTok, among other things.

"President Xi and I will do everything possible to make the World more peaceful and safe!" he said.

Trump has threatened to slap tariffs of 60 per cent on all Chinese imports into the US. But he has also in the past praised his relationship with Xi and has suggested China could help mediate international crises such as the war in Ukraine.

Xi will not attend Trump's inauguration. China will be represented at the event by Vice President Han Zheng.

Trump said in a December interview on "Meet the Press" that he had been communicating with Xi since he won the election. Trump in the interview said he has "a very good relationship" with China's leader. He said they did had not discussed Taiwan but discussed other issues.

(Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by FPJ's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)