US-China relations: Trump confirms talks with Xi since his inauguration

In Super Bowl interview on Fox News, the US president says he ‘loves talking’ to his Chinese counterpart

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US President Donald Trump has told Fox News that he has already held talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Photo: AP

Published: 10:38am, 11 Feb 2025Updated: 8:22pm, 11 Feb 2025

US President Donald Trump said he had spoken to his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, since his inauguration, signalling continued diplomatic engagement amid an escalating trade war.

In a Super Bowl interview broadcast by Fox News on Monday evening, Trump confirmed the discussions had take place, saying he had communicated with both Xi and “his people”.

“I happen to like him a lot, President Xi … I love talking to him,” Trump told Fox News host Bret Baier. “I’ve talked to him and I talk to his people, too. His people come in all the time.”

Trump also hailed his “very good personal relationship” with Xi, saying that he knew him “probably better than just about anybody in various parts of the world”.

Trump did not disclose when the conversation took place, nor what the two leaders discussed. It was the first confirmed talks with Xi since the start of Trump’s second term on January 20.

When asked about the matter at the Chinese foreign ministry’s regular press briefing on Tuesday, spokesman Guo Jiakun did not confirm whether the discussion had taken place, instead pointing out that Xi spoke to Trump on January 17.