Xi congratulates Trump

Beijing is ready to cooperate with US president-elect Donald Trump.

On Wednesday, Xi Jinping sent Trump a telegram to congratulate him on his electoral victory and made an appeal for productive ties (MoFA 1).

• "A stable, healthy and sustainable China-US relationship is in the common interests of the two countries and the expectations of the international community."
• "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, [and] expand mutually beneficial cooperation."

The foreign ministry also sounded a positive note: (MoFA 2):

• “We respect the choice of the American people and congratulate Mr. Trump on his election as president.”
• “China's policy toward the United States remains consistent…[and] will continue to view and handle China-US relations in accordance with the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation.”

Get smart: Xi and co. fully expect US-China ties to remain badly strained under Trump and have prepared accordingly.

• Still, Beijing wants to leave the door open to cooperation rather than writing off Washington entirely.

Get smarter: In his first term, Trump proved highly responsive to personal diplomacy.

• If Xi buddies up to Trump, he may have a decent shot at softening the administration’s stance toward China.