US President Donald Trump might visit China as early as April to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), the South China Morning Post reported yesterday, citing multiple diplomatic sources.
The newspaper cited sources as saying that Trump is looking to negotiate an agreement with China, with both sides hoping to present the visit as a diplomatic victory, although it is unclear how far discussions on the trip have progressed.
The meeting would be in line with Trump’s previous statement that he hopes to visit China within the first 100 days of his presidency.
Photo: Reuters
If it were to happen, Xi would meet Trump prior to a trip to Moscow to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in May, the newspaper reported.
Trump seeks to invite Xi to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, but China would prefer a more formal meeting in Washington or Beijing, the sources said.
A Trump visit to Beijing following China’s “two sessions” — annual meetings of the National People’s Congress and the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference — would be an “important diplomatic victory,” they said.
The Wall Street Journal yesterday reported that the US and China are discussing a “birthday summit” between the two leaders in June.
A US source said Trump would turn his attention to China once the Ukraine issue is resolved, the Journal reported.
The newspaper quoted a British source saying that a “high-level” Chinese delegation visited Washington several weeks ago to engage with the Trump administration.
Russia’s state-run TASS news agency previously reported that Xi accepted Russia’s invitation to attend the Moscow Victory Day Parade in May, which would be the first meeting between the two leaders this year.
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