Donald Trump Announces He Will Visit China in Spring Following Discussion with President Xi
President Donald Trump has confirmed that he plans to travel to Beijing in spring and extended an invitation to Chinese President Xi Jinping for a state visit later next year, after a phone call between the two officials.
Trump and Xi—who held talks nearly a month ago in Korea—covered a series of matters including commerce, the Ukraine conflict, the opioid crisis, and the Taiwan issue, per the former president and China's foreign ministry.
"Bilateral relations is extremely strong!" Trump wrote in a online message.
China's state news agency published a comment that noted both nations should "continue advancing, keep moving forward in the correct path on the principle of parity, mutual respect and shared interests".
Previous Meeting and Trade Developments
The heads of state convened in Busan in last October, subsequently they reached a ceasefire on import duties. The US decided to slash a import tax by half targeting the flow of opioids.
Trade taxes stay on products from China and average close to half.
"From that point, the bilateral relations has generally maintained a stable and upward path, and this is welcomed by the both nations and the broader international community," the Chinese statement said.
- America then withdrew a warning of full extra duties on China's exports, while China delayed its intention to implement its recent phase of rare earth export controls.
Commerce Discussions
Official representative Karoline Leavitt stated that the phone discussion with Xi—which went on for an hour—was mainly about commerce.
"We are pleased with what we've observed from the Beijing, and they feel the same way," she noted.
Additional Issues
Besides discussing commerce, Xi and Trump discussed the issues of the conflict in Ukraine and Taiwan.
Xi told Trump that the island's "reunification with China" is vital for the Chinese outlook for the "global system after conflicts".
China has been involved in a political dispute with the Japanese government, a US ally, over the long-term "strategic ambiguity" on the authority of self-governed Taiwan.
In the past few weeks, Tokyo's head Sanae Takaichi commented that an eventual Chinese attack on Taiwan could lead to a Japanese military response.
Trump, however, did not refer to Taiwan in his online message about the discussion.
US Ambassador to Japan, George Glass, had earlier stated that the US backs the Japanese in the aftermath of Beijing's "intimidation".