Washington, DC – A White House official announced that US President Donald Trump will make an official visit to China from March 31 to April 2. This visit is seen as a prelude to a highly anticipated meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping amid ongoing trade tensions between the two countries, according to Reuters.
Meeting amid a trade truce
The official, who requested anonymity, explained that Trump is expected to meet with Xi Jinping during the extended visit. This comes as both sides consider extending a trade truce that halted the escalation of tariffs between the world’s two largest economies, according to Reuters.
In remarks to foreign leaders on Thursday, Trump said his visit to China “will be very exciting.” He added that the United States intends to present “the biggest offer China has ever seen,” without providing further details.
First in-person meeting since October
The visit will mark the first talks between the two leaders since February. It will also be their first face-to-face meeting since their October summit in South Korea, where Trump agreed to reduce tariffs on Chinese goods in exchange for Chinese pledges to crack down on illicit fentanyl trade and resume purchases of U.S. soybeans. He also agreed to guarantee the continued flow of rare earth mineral exports.
This move comes as Washington and Beijing seek to avoid a renewed trade war that has previously disrupted global markets and supply chains.
The Taiwan file looms.
Although the October meeting largely avoided discussing Taiwan, the Chinese president raised the issue of US arms sales to the island during talks in February.
In December, Washington announced its largest-ever arms deal with Taiwan, worth $11.1 billion. The deal includes systems that could be used to counter a potential Chinese attack. Taipei, for its part, anticipates further arms deals in the future.
The upcoming visit is seen as a pivotal moment in US-China relations, both in terms of trade and sensitive geopolitical issues in the Asia-Pacific region.
