Trump Announces He Plans to Travel to China in Spring After Call with Xi Jinping
President Donald Trump has stated that he agreed to travel to China's capital in the month of April and asked Chinese President Xi Jinping for a official visit next year, subsequent to a telephone conversation between the two officials.
Trump and Xi—who met nearly a month ago in South Korea—talked about a variety of topics including economic relations, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the opioid crisis, and Taiwan, as stated by the former president and China's foreign ministry.
"Our relationship with China is highly solid!" Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.
China's state news agency issued a statement that said both nations should "keep up the momentum, keep moving forward in the positive way on the foundation of equality, mutual respect and common gain".
Previous Meeting and Economic Agreements
The officials held discussions in the South Korean city of Busan in October, following which they reached a ceasefire on import duties. The U.S. government decided to cut a 20 percent duty by 50% targeting the flow of the drug fentanyl.
Duties stay on imports and stand at close to half.
"Since then, the Sino-American ties has mostly kept a stable and upward path, and this is welcomed by the two countries and the wider global audience," the official comment noted.
- America then retracted a potential imposition of double tariffs on products, while the Chinese government delayed its intention to introduce its recent phase of restrictions on rare earths.
Commerce Discussions
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the Monday call with Xi—which took around 60 minutes—was focused on commerce.
"We are pleased with what we've witnessed from the Beijing, and they feel the same way," she remarked.
Additional Issues
Besides addressing commerce, Xi and Trump raised the issues of the conflict in Ukraine and the Taiwan situation.
Xi stated to Trump that Taiwan's "return to China" is vital for China's vision for the "world order following wars".
The Chinese government has been engaged in a political dispute with the Japanese government, a American partner, over the long-term "uncertain policy" on the authority of self-governed Taiwan.
In the past few weeks, Tokyo's head Sanae Takaichi commented that any Chinese attack on the island could compel a response from Japan's forces.
Trump, though, did not refer to the Taiwan issue in his social media update about the discussion.
The U.S. representative in Japan, George Glass, previously said that the U.S. government stands with the Japanese in the wake of China's "intimidation".