First, it was Russia. Now, it’s China.
Inside the first week after winning the 2016 election, President-elect Donald Trump has already calmed developing tensions between the U.S. and its two biggest global adversaries.
The second came when Trump took a phone call from Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday. According to the Trump Presidential Transition Team, the two discussed their mutual desire to see better relations between the two countries.
A transcript of those discussions wasn’t available, but the Trump communications team did provide the media with a “readout” of the conversation. It states:
President-elect Donald J. Trump spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday night and thanked him for the president’s well wishes and congratulations after winning a historic election. During the call, the leaders established a clear sense of mutual respect for one another, and President-elect Trump stated that he believes the two leaders will have one of the strongest relationships for both countries moving forward.
During the Obama presidency, China has taken an aggressive stance toward trade and its neighbors in the Pacific. During the presidential campaign, Trump said he believed there were areas where the two countries could work together while the U.S. used a “peace through strength” approach to calm military tensions in the region.
