Trump Announces He Is Set to Go to China in Spring After Phone Conversation with Xi Jinping

Former President Donald Trump has confirmed that he will go to the Chinese capital in spring and extended an invitation to Chinese President Xi Jinping for a state visit later next year, after a discussion between the two leaders.

Trump and Xi—who held talks recently in South Korea—talked about a range of issues including trade, the situation in Ukraine, synthetic drugs, and Taiwan, per the president and Chinese officials.

"Our relationship with China is very robust!" Trump wrote in a social media update.

China's state news agency published a statement that noted both countries should "keep up the momentum, keep moving forward in the correct path on the foundation of parity, mutual respect and common gain".

Earlier Talks and Economic Agreements

The officials held discussions in Busan in the fall, subsequently they reached a ceasefire on import duties. The US chose to reduce a 20% tariff in half intended to decrease the movement of fentanyl.

Duties remain on Chinese goods and average close to half.

"From that point, the bilateral relations has mostly kept a steady and positive trajectory, and this is greeted positively by the two countries and the international community at large," the official comment added.

• America then withdrew a potential imposition of double tariffs on China's exports, while Beijing delayed its plan to enforce its latest round of rare earth export controls.

Commerce Discussions

Official representative Karoline Leavitt said that the recent conversation with Xi—which went on for an hour—was focused on commerce.

"We are satisfied with what we've seen from the Chinese, and they agree," she remarked.

Broader Topics

Along with addressing commerce, Xi and Trump raised the issues of the Ukraine war and the island.

Xi informed Trump that Taiwan's "integration into China" is essential for the Chinese outlook for the "world order following wars".

China has been involved in a foreign policy clash with Tokyo, a U.S. friend, over the longstanding "vague stance" on the control of the independently administered island.

Recently, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said that a potential Chinese attack on Taiwan could force a Japanese military response.

Trump, though, did not discuss Taiwan in his social media update about the conversation.

The U.S. representative in Japan, George Glass, noted before that the United States supports Japan in the context of Beijing's "coercion".