Xi’s message to Trump sets tone for geopolitical rematch between powerful leaders

Chinese President Xi Jinping congratulated Donald Trump on his sweeping victory in the US presidential election, setting the tone for a geopolitical rematch between the two most powerful leaders in the world.

Xi told Trump on Thursday that China and the US would “benefit from cooperation and lose from confrontation”, official news agency Xinhua reported.

“A stable, healthy and sustainable China-US relationship is in the common interests of the two countries and the international community’s expectations,” Xi said.

“It is hoped that the two sides will uphold the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation, strengthen dialogue and communication, properly manage differences, expand mutually beneficial cooperation, and find a correct way for China and the United States to get along.”

Xi and Trump are no strangers. They met four times between 2016 and 2020 during the American leader’s first term in the White House. Trump is the last US president to visit China and likes to tout his strong relationship with the Chinese leader.

Incumbent US President Joe Biden is the only American president who has not visited China while in office since the two sides normalised relations in 1979.