Chinese president tells Trump ‘co-operation is the only choice’

President Xi Jinping underlined the importance of relations between China and the US in a telephone call with US president-elect Donald Trump on Monday. Mr Trump had been overwhelmingly critical of China during his campaign, at one point accusing China of "raping" America and stealing jobs and manipulating its currency.

At one point during he threatened to impose a 45 per cent tariff on all Chinese imports.

China kept its counsel during the campaign and made no comment on the candidate, although former finance minister Lou Jiwei did refer to him as “an irrational type.”

The initial tone from both sides appears to be far more conciliatory.

“Facts have shown that co-operation is the only correct choice for the two countries in dealing with their relations,” said Mr Xi, quoted by the state news agency Xinhua.

Mr Xi congratulated Mr Trump on his election and said that in the 37 years since China and the United States established diplomatic relations, bilateral ties have been continuously growing and moving forward.

This had brought about “substantial benefits to the peoples of the two countries and has promoted world and regional peace, stability and prosperity,” Mr Xi said in the Xinhua statement.

‘Mutual respect’

Meanwhile, a statement from the Trump transition team regarding the phone call said the two had “established a clear sense of mutual respect for one another” and that Mr Trump believes they will have “one of the strongest relationships for both countries moving forward.”

There had been some questions over whether Mr Xi and Mr Trump had in fact communicated by telephone earlier, after the Chinese side seemed to indicate they had spoken shortly after Mr Trump won the election, something denied by the Trump camp.

Chinese state media seemed to indicate a preference for Mr Trump over rival Hillary Clinton because of her support for a US "pivot" to Asia, something of which Beijing disapproves as it seeks to boost its power in the region.

Mr Trump, as a businessman, is seen as someone that Beijing can negotiate with over the usual trade issues such as subsidies for exporters and other actions that have led to China’s $334 billion (€310 billion) trade surplus with the US.

The two would meet “at an early date” to exchange views on issues of mutual interest, Xinhua reported.

An editorial in the Global Times newspaper at the weekend expressed fear that Mr Trump would start a trade war with China by declaring the country a currency manipulator.

“If Trump wrecks Sino-US trade, a number of US industries will be impaired. Finally the new president will be condemned for his recklessness, ignorance and incompetence and bear all the consequences,” the Global Times said.

However, it went to say, “we are very suspicious the trade war scenario is a trap set up by some American media to trip up the new president.”

Additional reporting: agencies