Donald Trump has congratulated Chinese president Xi Jinping after he was made the country’s most powerful leader since Chairman Mao.
The ruling Communist Party voted unanimously to enshrine his name and ideology in its constitution on Tuesday.
The move effectively makes any act of opposing him tantamount to an attack on the party itself.
Mr Trump revealed on Twitter that he had spoken to his Chinese counterpart to applaud his “extraordinary elevation”.
He said: “Spoke to President Xi of China to congratulate him on his extraordinary elevation. Also discussed NoKo & trade, two very important subjects!”
In an interview with Fox Business Network shortly after the phone call, Mr Trump described Mr Xi's elevation as something that had "really virtually never happened in China."
"He's a powerful man. I happen to think he's a very good person," said Mr Trump.
"People say we have the best relationship of any president-president, because he's called president also.
"Now some people might call him the king of China. But he's called president."
The two leaders will meet in China next month during Mr Trump's first presidential visit to Asia.
The US president said he'd be "going to Beijing and other places, wherever he'd like to take me" and said he hopes the trip will be "historic and positive" with serious progress on North Korea.
He will also stop in Japan, South Korea, Vietnam and the Philippines during the trip.
Previous Chinese Communist Party leaders have had their ideologies incorporated into the party’s constitution or thinking - but none, besides founder Mao Zedong and now Xi Jinping, have had their philosophy described as “thought”, which is at the top of the ideological hierarchy.
