WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump will travel to China from Mar 31 to Apr 2, a White House official said on Friday (Feb 20), setting dates for a highly anticipated encounter amid tension between the world’s biggest economies.
Trump is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping as part of the extended visit, as the two sides weigh whether to extend a trade truce that paused a tariffs escalation, said the official, who declined to be named while discussing details that have not been publicly announced.
“That’s going to be a wild one,” Trump told foreign leaders on Thursday about the China trip. “We have to put on the biggest display you’ve ever had in the history of China.”
The visit would be the leaders’ first talks since February and their first in-person visit since an October meeting in South Korea, where Trump agreed to trim tariffs on China in exchange for Beijing cracking down on the illicit fentanyl trade, resuming US soybean purchases and keeping rare earths exports flowing.
While the October meeting largely sidestepped the sensitive issue of Taiwan, in February Xi raised US arms sales to the island.
Washington announced its largest-ever arms sales deal with Taiwan in December, including US$11.1 billion in weapons that could ostensibly be used to defend against a Chinese attack. Taiwan expects more such sales.
