Trump Announces He Is Set to Go to China in Spring After Phone Conversation with Xi Jinping
Former President Donald Trump has declared that he agreed to travel to China's capital in spring and asked Chinese President Xi Jinping for a diplomatic trip later next year, subsequent to a discussion between the two heads of state.
Trump and Xi—who convened recently in the Republic of Korea—discussed a series of matters including economic relations, the situation in Ukraine, synthetic drugs, and the Taiwan issue, according to the former president and China's foreign ministry.
"Our relationship with China is very robust!" Trump stated in a Truth Social post.
Official Chinese media released a comment that indicated both states should "continue advancing, proceed in the right direction on the principle of parity, mutual respect and mutual benefit".
Previous Meeting and Trade Developments
The heads of state met in Busan in the fall, after which they reached a ceasefire on trade taxes. The U.S. government opted to reduce a import tax by 50% aimed at the movement of opioids.
Duties remain on imports and are around just below 50%.
"Afterwards, the China-US relationship has generally maintained a stable and upward path, and this is greeted positively by the two countries and the wider global audience," the official comment noted.
- America then retracted a potential imposition of 100% additional tariffs on Chinese goods, while China put off its plan to implement its recent phase of restrictions on rare earths.
Focus on Trade
The administration's spokesperson Karoline Leavitt stated that the recent conversation with Xi—which lasted about an hour—was centered on commerce.
"The U.S. is happy with what we've observed from the China, and they agree," she noted.
Wider Discussions
Besides talking about commerce, Xi and Trump discussed the topics of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the island.
Xi told Trump that Taiwan's "reunification with China" is essential for Beijing's perspective for the "world order following wars".
Beijing has been involved in a foreign policy clash with the Japanese government, a U.S. friend, over the long-term "vague stance" on the authority of self-governed Taiwan.
Recently, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said that any assault from Beijing on the island could lead to a Japanese military response.
Trump, though, did not discuss the Taiwan issue in his social media update about the call.
America's envoy to Tokyo, George Glass, previously said that the US supports the Japanese in the context of China's "pressure".