Trump proposed a US-China-Russia coalition to Xi Jinping. What is the common opponent indicated by the American president
US President Donald Trump would have suggested last week to his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to join forces with Russian President Vladimir Putin against the International Criminal Court (ICC), reports the British publication Financial Times on Tuesday, quoted by EFE.
Citing “sources familiar with the discussions,” the newspaper says this was one of the topics covered during Donald Trump's visit to China last week, during which the two had a lengthy conversation behind closed doors in Beijing.
The White House refused to make any comment, according to the FT, which does not provide additional details about this proposal by Trump or how it was received by the Chinese leader, reports Agerpres.
None of the three countries – the USA, China and Russia – recognize the authority of the ICC nor its jurisdiction over those of nation states.
However, the opposition of the United States and Russia is more categorical than that of China, which, although it denies the competence of this tribunal based in The Hague over Chinese territory, has supported its activity in other conflicts, such as those in Libya or Sudan.
The ICC issued an arrest warrant against President Putin in 2023 for his responsibility in “war crimes” in Ukraine, which has not prevented him from making numerous trips since then, especially to countries in the former Soviet sphere of influence, as well as to the USA (Alaska), China or India, all of which took place in 2025. None of these three countries recognize the jurisdiction of the ICC.
As far as the US is concerned, no government – be it Democrat or Republican – has ever recognized the International Criminal Court.
However, President Donald Trump's animosity towards the ICC has grown significantly with the imposition of economic and travel sanctions against Prosecutor Karim Khan, on the grounds that the ICC has taken “illegitimate and baseless actions against the United States and its close ally, Israel,” according to a February 2025 executive order.
The ICC is one of the pillars of the world order that Trump has tried to discredit since his return to power in this second term, along with the UN and its various agencies or agreements (such as the Paris Agreement on climate change).
