Donald Trump 'slights' China's Xi Jinping with letter but no phone call since inauguration

'I suspect this relationship is going to go through a very difficult patch'

(Getty)

Donald Trump has sent a letter to Chinese President Xi Jinping rather than call him, a move experts say will be "interpreted as a slight".

The two leaders have not spoken directly since Mr Trump's inauguration.

In his letter, Mr Trump wished the Chinese people a prosperous Lunar New Year of the Rooster, making him the only US leader not to have sent well wishes to the world's most populous nation on its most important holiday, which fell on 28 January this year.

"It will be interpreted as a slight," Leslie Vinjamuri, an associate fellow of the US & the Americas programme at Chatham House told The Independent.

She said Mr Trump was careful in wording the letter to appear conciliatory, "but undoubtedly most people and the Chinese will notice this was not a phone call."

A statement from the White House said Mr Trump wrote to Mr Xi to say he looked forward to "developing a constructive relationship that benefits both the United States and China."

Ms Vinjamuri said it was "a very clear signal" Mr Trump is "keeping the Chinese at arm's length."

"To wait nearly three weeks to establish contact, when we're talking about the most strategic relationship that the United States has over the course of the century, is a very significant factor."

Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said China "highly commended" Mr Trump for the letter. He dismissed suggestions that Beijing took offence in the timing.

"It is known to all that since President Trump took office, China and the US have been in close contact," Mr Lu said.

Speculation has simmered in China about how Mr Trump might back up his tough talk, with observers noting that since his inauguration on 20 January, he has spoken to more than a dozen foreign leaders but not Mr Xi.

The US President has accused Beijing of unfair trade practices and a deliberately undervalued currency. He has also criticised China's buildup in the South China Sea and accused Beijing of doing too little to pressure North Korea over its nuclear missile programme.

He also broke four decades of diplomatic protocol by speaking by phone with the president of Taiwan, a country China claims as its own territory.

Mr Trump's closest adviser and chief strategist has openly envisaged the possibility of a US-China war over the South China Sea.

Steve Bannon said he thinks the US will be at war with China within the next five to 10 years.

Ms Vinjamuri said future relations between the US and China will be hard to predict, due to being in a "very unstable and unpredictable phase in US politics."

"There's a strong expectation that the Trump administration will take a much more aggressive line. And I think there's some very real concerns, especially with respect to the economic relationship."

She added: "I suspect this relationship is going to go through a very difficult patch."