US President Donald Trump suggested to his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, that they should join forces with Russian President Vladimir Putin to counter the International Criminal Court (ICC), the Financial Times reported today.
Citing sources close to the high-level meetings, the British newspaper revealed that this proposal was a key topic of discussion during Trump’s official state visit to Beijing last week.
The White House has declined to comment on the matter, and the report did not provide further details regarding the specifics of Trump’s proposal or how Xi Jinping received it.
While the United States, Russia, and China are all veto-wielding permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, none of the three global superpowers officially recognize the legal authority or jurisdiction of the Hague-based court over sovereign nation-states.
Read more about this topic: Trump-Xi: China to buy U.S. oil, aircraft, and soybeans (with video)
However, their diplomatic approaches to the tribunal differ slightly:
-
The United States & Russia: Both Washington and Moscow maintain a highly adversarial and vocal opposition to the ICC, actively taking measures to shield their citizens and allies from its rulings.
-
China: Beijing traditionally adopts a more pragmatic, case-by-case stance. While China strictly denies the court’s jurisdiction over its own territory, it has historically supported or abstained from ICC interventions in specific foreign conflicts, such as those in Libya and Sudan.
The reported proposal aligns with the growing list of grievances that both Washington and Moscow hold against the international tribunal.
In 2023, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin over alleged war crimes tied to the conflict in Ukraine. Despite the international warrant, the Russian president has continued to travel abroad, focusing primarily on post-Soviet states, but also making high-profile visits to China, India, and even U.S. territory (Alaska) in 2025.
Read more about this topic: Trump insists Xi relation is strong despite policy differences (with video)
Meanwhile, the Trump administration’s animosity toward the ICC intensified dramatically following Washington’s imposition of strict economic sanctions and travel restrictions against ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan.
The White House justified the retaliation by accusing the court of taking “illegitimate and baseless actions against the United States and its close ally, Israel.”
Since returning to office for his second term, Trump has targeted several pillars of the established post-WWII international order. Alongside the ICC, his administration has consistently moved to defund, discredit, or withdraw from various United Nations agencies and international treaties, including the Paris Climate Accord.
