BEIJING: President Donald Trump will visit China from May 13 to 15, Beijing confirmed on Monday (May 11), with the US leader expected to discuss Iran and trade with his Chinese counterpart.
Washington and Beijing have been at loggerheads over key issues ranging from trade tariffs to the Middle East war and Taiwan, which China claims as part of its territory.
Trump was originally meant to visit in late March or early April, but postponed his trip to focus on the Iran war.
“At the invitation of President Xi Jinping, President of the United States of America Donald J Trump will pay a state visit to China from May 13 to 15,” a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said.
The leaders of the world’s two largest economies will hold their first face-to-face talks in more than six months.
Trump is scheduled to arrive in Beijing on Wednesday, ahead of talks set to take place Thursday and Friday. It will be his first trip to China since 2017.
AGREEMENTS ON PLANES, AGRICULTURE AND TRADE
The US and China are expected to agree to forums to facilitate mutual trade and investment, while China is expected to announce purchases related to Boeing planes, American agriculture and energy, the officials said.
Plans for a Board of Trade and Board of Investment may be formally announced at the meeting, but those mechanisms may need subsequent work before they can be implemented, one of the officials said.
The two countries will also discuss lengthening a truce in their trade war that allows rare earth minerals to flow from China to the US, though it is not yet clear if that agreement will be extended this week, that official said.
He nonetheless expressed confidence that the deal, which was struck last autumn and remains in effect, will eventually be extended.
“It doesn’t expire yet,” the official told reporters. “I’m confident we’ll announce any potential extension at the appropriate time.”
China’s embassy in Washington declined to comment.
