Trump Announces He Will Visit China in the Month of April Following Call with Xi
Leader Donald Trump has declared that he plans to travel to China's capital in spring and extended an invitation to Chinese President Xi Jinping for a state visit next year, following a telephone conversation between the two officials.
Trump and Xi—who held talks about a month back in the Republic of Korea—covered a series of matters including economic relations, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, fentanyl, and the island of Taiwan, as stated by the former president and China's foreign ministry.
"The U.S.-China ties is extremely strong!" Trump posted in a social media update.
Official Chinese media published a comment that indicated both nations should "maintain progress, keep moving forward in the right direction on the basis of fairness, esteem and shared interests".
Earlier Talks and Commerce Progress
The leaders held discussions in the South Korean city of Busan in the fall, after which they settled on a pause on trade taxes. The US chose to cut a import tax in half aimed at the flow of opioids.
Duties remain on products from China and stand at just below 50%.
"From that point, the China-US relationship has generally maintained a stable and upward path, and this is appreciated by the two countries and the broader international community," the Beijing's announcement added.
- The US then pulled back a threat of full extra duties on Chinese goods, while the Chinese government postponed its intention to introduce its latest round of restrictions on rare earths.
Commerce Discussions
Official representative Karoline Leavitt commented that the phone discussion with Xi—which took around 60 minutes—was centered on trade.
"We are satisfied with what we've seen from the China, and they share that sentiment," she noted.
Additional Issues
Besides addressing economic matters, Xi and Trump discussed the issues of the conflict in Ukraine and Taiwan.
Xi informed Trump that the island's "return to China" is critical for China's vision for the "world order following wars".
The Chinese government has been part of a foreign policy clash with Japan, a U.S. friend, over the long-term "uncertain policy" on the control of the independently administered island.
Recently, Tokyo's head Sanae Takaichi commented that an eventual Chinese attack on Taiwan could force a Japanese military response.
Trump, however, did not refer to the island in his Truth Social post about the conversation.
US Ambassador to Japan, George Glass, had earlier stated that the U.S. government supports the Japanese in the aftermath of China's "coercion".