The president, who has escalated tariffs on Chinese products, didn’t disclose when the conversation took place.
U.S. President Donald Trump said he has spoken with Chinese communist regime leader Xi Jinping since his inauguration on Jan. 20.
Trump revealed this exchange during an interview with
Fox News that aired on Feb. 10. He didn’t provide specific details about the timing or content of their conversation.
Prior to his inauguration, Trump had a phone
call with Xi, which he later
said was initiated by Beijing.
On Feb. 1, Trump
signed multiple executive orders imposing 10 percent tariffs on all products from China and 25 percent tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico. The White House said at the time that the move was necessary to hold these nations accountable “for their promises to halt the flood of poisonous drugs into the United States.”
After Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum each spoke with Trump on the phone, they agreed on Feb. 3 to strengthen border security. The levies were then
put on hold for 30 days.
When asked about additional tariffs on China that began
on Feb. 4, Trump told Fox News’s Bret Baier: “That’s just a small portion of it; I just did to China having to do what is happening with fentanyl,” calling it a “penalty to China.”
The president said China relies heavily on the United States for trade and that Beijing needs Washington, saying that the Chinese regime takes “so much money out of the United States.”
The United States’ trade deficit with China increased to $295 billion in 2024, according to
data released on Feb. 5 by the U.S. Commerce Department.
“We’re not going to let them take out the kind of money they’re taking out now,” Trump said in the Fox News interview.
When asked whether he had spoken with Xi since his inauguration, Trump replied: “Yeah, I have talked to him, and I talked to his people, too.
“His people come in all the time. We have a very good personal relationship.”
When The Epoch Times asked about Trump’s remarks on Fox News, the White House did not comment on the matter.
China’s foreign ministry didn’t confirm or deny the call between the two leaders when asked about it at a regular
briefing in Beijing on Feb. 11.
Instead, Guo Jiakun, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, referred to the previous call between Xi and Trump on
Jan. 17.
Analysts who spoke with The Epoch Times following China’s
announcement of its retaliation tariffs have expressed low expectations for any deal that Beijing might strike with Washington, should the two sides choose to engage.
“We don’t think Beijing will ever come to an agreement with [Trump]. Even if there is some form of engagement, I doubt there will be any consensus because Xi Jinping’s focus isn’t on the well-being of the country in the long run,” said Yeh Yao-Yuan, professor and chair of international studies at the University of St. Thomas in Houston.
According to Yeh, Trump wants the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to take action, or at least show a willingness, to address issues that are important to the United States, whether it’s related to fentanyl or trade balances.
“However, the problem is that, while dealing with China’s
problems, if [Xi] softens his approach and negotiates with the United States, it could undermine the Communist Party’s prestige and its propaganda efforts at home,” Yeh said.
CCP’s Retaliation: ‘A Symbolic Gesture’
Just minutes after the extra U.S. tariffs came into effect on Feb. 4, Beijing’s Ministry of Finance
said that a 15 percent duty would be applied to American coal and liquefied natural gas and a 10 percent tariff would be imposed on U.S. crude oil, agricultural equipment, and select vehicles. The tariffs took effect on Feb. 10.
Meanwhile, China’s commerce ministry and customs officials
announced on Feb. 4 new export controls on five rare metals crucial for defense and various industries. The restrictions, which target metals such as tungsten and indium, came into effect immediately.
China’s market regulator announced in a one-line statement on the same day that it was investigating Google for alleged antitrust violations. This move puzzled China watchers because the U.S. tech giant
exited the Chinese market more than a decade ago.
Xie Tian, a marketing professor at the University of South Carolina Aiken, said that Beijing’s response to U.S. tariff increases is “absurd” and mainly a “symbolic gesture” or propaganda aimed at appeasing domestic citizens impacted by the economic
slowdown and the withdrawal of
foreign investment.Yeh concurred and said that many Chinese are closely watching whether the CCP can maintain its “confrontational stance against the United States for the long haul,” which he said some have dubbed the “Second Cold War.”
He pointed out that winning has “never been the primary focus for the regime.”
“What matters to [Xi] is how long he can hold on to power ... and how long the CCP can survive,” Yeh said.
“When the CCP [officials] look at a situation, they prioritize the Party and its elites, as well the continuation of the regime’s power. The welfare of the people won’t take center stage in their policy decisions.
“To put it bluntly, if the Party were to soften its stance toward the United States now, how long can it survive?
“Maybe not long at all.”
Luo Ya contributed to this report.
