Donald Trump Reveals He Plans to Travel to China in Spring After Phone Conversation with President Xi
Former President Donald Trump has declared that he agreed to visit China's capital in the month of April and invited Chinese President Xi Jinping for a state visit next year, following a phone call between the two officials.
Trump and Xi—who convened recently in South Korea—talked about a series of matters including trade, the Ukraine conflict, synthetic drugs, and Taiwan, per the U.S. leader and China's foreign ministry.
"Bilateral relations is highly solid!" Trump posted in a Truth Social post.
Beijing's press outlet issued a announcement that said both countries should "maintain progress, proceed in the correct path on the foundation of fairness, respect and common gain".
Previous Meeting and Trade Developments
The officials met in Busan in last October, after which they agreed to a truce on trade taxes. The U.S. government chose to reduce a 20 percent duty by half intended to decrease the supply of opioids.
Tariffs remain on Chinese goods and are around nearly 50 percent.
"From that point, the Sino-American ties has generally maintained a consistent and favorable course, and this is appreciated by the each side and the international community at large," the Chinese statement added.
- The US then withdrew a warning of 100% additional tariffs on China's exports, while the Chinese government postponed its intention to enforce its new set of rare earth export controls.
Commerce Discussions
The administration's spokesperson Karoline Leavitt commented that the phone discussion with Xi—which took around 60 minutes—was mainly about commerce.
"We are satisfied with what we've seen from the China, and they agree," she said.
Additional Issues
Besides talking about economic matters, Xi and Trump raised the issues of the conflict in Ukraine and the island.
Xi stated to Trump that the island's "reunification with China" is essential for China's vision for the "global system after conflicts".
China has been part of a foreign policy clash with the Japanese government, a US ally, over the enduring "strategic ambiguity" on the authority of self-governed Taiwan.
Earlier this month, Tokyo's head Sanae Takaichi commented that a potential Chinese attack on Taiwan could lead to a reaction by Tokyo's army.
Trump, though, did not discuss the island in his online message about the discussion.
US Ambassador to Japan, George Glass, noted before that the U.S. government stands with Japan in the context of Beijing's "pressure".
