Xi olive branche
Xi’s olive branch to Trump comes with warning on China red lines
Chinese leader Xi Jinping has used his final meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden to send a clear message to President-elect Donald Trump: China wants to be friends, but is ready for a fight if necessary.
With Biden set to leave the White House in January, China’s leader took Saturday’s meeting as a chance to spell out his approach toward Trump. That entails finding a way for the world’s two biggest economies to get along, with Xi emphasizing that the U.S. and China shouldn’t fight a « new Cold War,” and a conflict between them isn’t inevitable.
But he followed that up by reiterating China’s « four red lines,” signaling that Trump must avoid any moves to undermine the Communist Party’s grip on power, push the nation toward democracy, contain its economic rise or encourage independence in Taiwan. Chinese state media, including CCTV, seized on the reference to « four red lines,” saying it set the agenda for the future relationship.
« They must not be challenged,” Xi said in a statement after the meeting with Biden in Lima, where both leaders attended an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. « These are the most important guardrails and safety nets for China-U.S. relations.”
The lengthy statement from Xi after what was essentially a farewell chat with an outgoing U.S. president shows that China is hoping for the best while preparing for the worst. Trump has threatened to hit Beijing with tariffs of 60%, and tapped several hardliners on China to lead his foreign policy team — including Marco Rubio as secretary of state and Mike Waltz as national security advisor — suggesting no sensitive areas are off limits.
TANIKO Madagascar 