Xi congratulates Trump on election win, urges China and U.S. to find ‘right way to get along’

China’s President Xi Jinping congratulated Donald Trump on his U.S. presidential win and urged both nations to find the “right way to get along,” as looming U.S. tariffs threatened to return them to the days of a trade war years ago.

Stable, sound and sustainable China-U.S. relations serve the interests of both, Xi said on Thursday, adding that the international community would expect the two powers to “respect each other (and) co-exist peacefully.”

Xi also called for strengthened dialog to properly manage differences.

Ties hit a new low after clashes over issues ranging from trade and security to the future of Taiwan and the South China Sea, only starting to improve in November 2023 after Xi and President Joe Biden met for four hours in California.

Trump’s win could revive issues from his first presidency, when he started the bruising trade war with the world’s second-largest economy in 2018, though striking a truce just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit in January 2020.

The Republican, who has vowed to adopt stiff tariffs, recaptured the White House with a sweeping victory over Democrat Kamala Harris in Tuesday’s election, and will take office in January.

Echoing Xi’s call for stability, the commerce ministry said China was willing to jointly develop healthy economic and trade ties the United States.

China is willing to expand co-operation to benefit both countries, a ministry spokesperson said, when asked at a regular press conference about the prospect of more U.S. tariffs, setting aside for now any suggestion of potential retaliation.

Xi’s congratulatory message to Trump was more subdued than when the latter first won election in November 2016.

At the time, Xi called for “greater progress in China-U.S. relations from a new starting point,” saying both economies should shoulder responsibilities in areas such as world peace and stability, global development and prosperity.

Still, in an editorial on Wednesday, the state-run China Daily portrayed Trump’s second presidency as a potential “new beginning in China-U.S. relations, if the chance that has been offered is not wasted.”

U.S. policies and misconceptions towards China had posed challenges for ties, it said.

“A pragmatic approach to bilateral relations is essential in navigating the complexities of global challenges,” it added.

The Biden administration did not dismantle Trump’s trade policies and continued to target China’s state-driven industrial practices.

In September, it locked in steep tariff hikes on Chinese imports, such as duties of 100 per cent on electric vehicles, 50 per cent on solar cells and 25 per cent on steel, aluminum, EV batteries and key minerals, in a bid to protect strategic American industries.

But Trump’s threat of tariffs of 60 per cent on U.S. imports of Chinese goods poses major growth risks for China.

They would be much higher than the 7.5 per cent to 25 per cent levied in his first term, and come at a much more vulnerable time for the Chinese economy, as it battles a steep property downturn, the burden of local government debt and weak domestic demand.