Donald Trump Says He Plans to Travel to China in April Following Discussion with Xi Jinping
President Donald Trump has declared that he will go to Beijing in April and invited Chinese President Xi Jinping for a official visit later next year, subsequent to a phone call between the two heads of state.
Trump and Xi—who convened nearly a month ago in the Republic of Korea—covered a range of issues including economic relations, the situation in Ukraine, synthetic drugs, and the island of Taiwan, as stated by the president and Chinese officials.
"Our relationship with China is extremely strong!" Trump posted in a online message.
Beijing's press outlet published a statement that said both states should "keep up the momentum, proceed in the correct path on the basis of equality, mutual respect and mutual benefit".
Earlier Talks and Commerce Progress
The officials held discussions in the South Korean city of Busan in last October, following which they reached a ceasefire on tariffs. The United States chose to reduce a import tax by half aimed at the movement of the drug fentanyl.
Duties remain on products from China and are around close to half.
"Afterwards, the China-US relationship has generally maintained a stable and upward path, and this is greeted positively by the two countries and the international community at large," the Chinese statement noted.
- The United States then pulled back a threat of full extra duties on products, while Beijing postponed its intention to introduce its recent phase of rare earth export controls.
Economic Emphasis
Official representative Karoline Leavitt commented that the recent conversation with Xi—which took around 60 minutes—was mainly about economic issues.
"We are pleased with what we've witnessed from the Beijing, and they share that sentiment," she said.
Wider Discussions
Besides talking about trade, Xi and Trump raised the issues of the conflict in Ukraine and Taiwan.
Xi informed Trump that Taiwan's "return to China" is critical for Beijing's perspective for the "post-war international order".
China has been involved in a political dispute with Japan, a US ally, over the longstanding "uncertain policy" on the sovereignty of the independently administered island.
Earlier this month, Japan's leader Sanae Takaichi stated that an eventual military action by China on Taiwan could force a response from Japan's forces.
Trump, however, did not mention the island in his Truth Social post about the call.
US Ambassador to Japan, George Glass, had earlier stated that the U.S. government supports the Japanese in the wake of Beijing's "intimidation".