Trump, Xi hold call on TikTok, trade, Taiwan

US President-elect Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed issues including TikTok, trade and Taiwan in a phone call on Friday, just days before Trump takes office again promising tariffs that could ratchet up tensions between the world’s two biggest economies.

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Both leaders were upbeat about the call, with Trump calling it “a very good one” and Xi saying he and Trump both hoped for a positive start to US-China relations, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.

The call came shortly before US Supreme Court on Friday announced a ruling upholding a law that mandates TikTok owner ByteDance divest TikTok’s US assets by Sunday to a non-Chinese buyer, or be banned on national security concerns.

The Chinese readout of the call said the two leaders agreed to set up a “channel of strategic communication to keep in regular touch on major issues of shared interest.”