The three "T's" were on the agenda during President Trump's phone call, ahead of his inauguration, with Chinese President Xi Jinping last week: TikTok, trade, and Taiwan, reports Reuters. And it was "a good, friendly conversation" that "went fine," Trump told Fox News in an interview broadcast on Thursday evening, noting that when it comes to forging a fair trade deal with China, "I can do that." Trump has recently floated the idea of imposing a 10% tariff on Chinese imports into the US—a significant drop from the 60% or so tariff he'd suggested on the campaign trail.
Trump noted on Fox that while "I'd rather not have to use" tariffs as leverage against China, the tariff tactic offers "tremendous power" over the rival nation, which the US has been in uneasy relations with for some time over trade, fentanyl, and TikTok, which is owned by Chinese company ByteDance. Axios notes that China's readout of the call between Trump and Xi was "exceedingly warm," with state media noting the US and China "can become partners and friends ... prosper together, and benefit both countries and the world."
Per Bloomberg, Trump has gone a little "softer" on China in recent months than his previous harsh rhetoric, hinting at lower tariffs for China than those suggested for Canada and Mexico, welcoming Chinese Vice President Han Zheng to his inauguration (the first time a Chinese senior official has attended a US president's swearing-in), and pooh-poohing dangers to kids from TikTok—despite railing against the app toward the end of his first term.
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Some feel that Elon Musk has been a "moderating influence" on Trump when it comes to China, per Axios, as Musk's Tesla gets close to 40% of its sales from there. Musk is also rumored to be in the running to buy TikTok from ByteDance, which would keep the app available in the US if such a deal were approved. CNN, meanwhile, isn't so sure how long the "honeymoon" between the US and China will last. (More China stories.)
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