Trump Announces He Plans to Travel to China in Spring Subsequent to Discussion with Xi

President Donald Trump has stated that he will go to the Chinese capital in the month of April and asked Chinese President Xi Jinping for a state visit later next year, after a phone call between the two heads of state.

Trump and Xi—who met about a month back in Korea—talked about a variety of topics including trade, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the opioid crisis, and the Taiwan issue, per the former president and Chinese officials.

"Bilateral relations is highly solid!" Trump wrote in a online message.

Official Chinese media released a statement that said both states should "maintain progress, proceed in the correct path on the principle of fairness, respect and mutual benefit".

Prior Engagement and Economic Agreements

The heads of state held discussions in Busan, South Korea in last October, after which they agreed to a truce on tariffs. The U.S. government chose to cut a 20% tariff by half aimed at the flow of the drug fentanyl.

Duties remain on Chinese goods and average just below 50%.

"Since then, the Sino-American ties has mostly kept a stable and upward path, and this is welcomed by the both nations and the broader international community," the Chinese statement noted.

• America then withdrew a warning of 100% additional tariffs on Chinese goods, while the Chinese government put off its scheme to introduce its recent phase of restrictions on rare earths.

Commerce Discussions

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

"The U.S. is happy with what we've witnessed from the Chinese, and they feel the same way," she said.

Additional Issues

Besides addressing commerce, Xi and Trump broached the issues of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the island.

Xi told Trump that Taiwan's "reunification with China" is critical for Beijing's perspective for the "post-war international order".

Beijing has been part of a foreign policy clash with the Japanese government, a US ally, over the enduring "strategic ambiguity" on the sovereignty of Taiwan.

Recently, Japan's leader Sanae Takaichi stated that a potential Chinese attack on Taiwan could lead to a Japanese military response.

Trump, but, did not discuss the island in his Truth Social post about the conversation.

America's envoy to Tokyo, George Glass, previously said that the United States supports Japan in the context of China's "pressure".