There Is an Old Vulcan Proverb: 'Only Trump Could Go to China'

By Ward Clark | 4:06 PM on January 19, 2025

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Monday is the big day when President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance become simply President Trump and Vice President Vance. But as we have been reporting right here, Donald Trump isn't waiting around for the big day; he isn't just hitting the ground running, he's jumped ahead of the starter pistol and left the referees standing there looking surprised.

Trump has already spoken on the phone with the leader of the United States' principal geopolitical rival, China. Now, there are reports, as yet unconfirmed, that Trump intends to visit China. That doesn't seem at all unlikely, as he did it in his first term.

President-elect Donald Trump has told advisers he wants to travel to China after he takes office, according to people familiar with the discussions, seeking to deepen a relationship with Xi Jinping strained by the president-elect’s threat to impose steeper tariffs on Chinese imports.
Trump visited Beijing in 2017, nearly a year into his first term. Aides cautioned that no decision has been made for him to go again. One of the people familiar with the discussions said Trump has expressed interest in traveling to China in his first 100 days in office. Trump’s transition team didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Trump and Xi spoke by phone on Friday for the first time since the November election, discussing trade, fentanyl, TikTok and other subjects. “It is my expectation that we will solve many problems together, and starting immediately,” Trump wrote on social media after the call.

Note that "talking with China" doesn't necessarily mean "trusting China." "Trust but verify" would seem to be the desired practice here, without necessarily leaning too hard into the "trust" part.

There are also reports that President Trump has invited Xi Jinping to Washington. Trump did, somewhat controversially, invite Chairman Xi to his inauguration, but Xi demurred, sending instead China's Vice President Han Zheng, which is more the usual form.

If either meeting takes place, it would come at an interesting time in Sino-American relations.

A Beijing meeting would come at a fraught moment in the relationship between the world’s leading superpowers. Along with potential new tariffs on Chinese imports, Trump has also pushed Beijing to crack down on Chinese chemical producers that supply the ingredients for fentanyl to Mexican cartels.

It's highly doubtful Trump would back down on any of his demands without receiving something substantial in return - like some effort to prevent the sale of fentanyl precursors to Mexico.

Is Trump Speaking to Xi Jinping Pre-Inauguration Keeping Our Friends Close - and China Closer?

During his one term, the befuddled old Joe Biden did nothing to improve relations with China. On the international stage, the one primary attribute Biden projected was weakness, with indecisiveness running a close second place. That, however, is changing - on Monday, in fact. If President Trump visits China or if Chairman Xi comes to the United States, in either case, the message must be very clear: America is back, baby. And Trump may be just the person to send that message.

There's still one more joker in the deck: Russia. President Trump met with Tsar Vladimir I several times during his first term. It's a good bet they'll be meeting again. Between his terms, Donald Trump spoke on several occasions with the Russian dictator, and Ukraine will no doubt be on the table for discussions again, starting Monday.

We live in interesting times, friends.