🔗 Share this article

Former President Donald Trump has stated that he will go to the Chinese capital in the month of April and extended an invitation to Chinese President Xi Jinping for a state visit later next year, subsequent to a phone call between the two leaders.

Trump and Xi—who convened nearly a month ago in South Korea—discussed a series of matters including trade, the Ukraine conflict, fentanyl, and the Taiwan issue, as stated by the president and China's foreign ministry.

"The U.S.-China ties is extremely strong!" Trump wrote in a social media update.

Official Chinese media released a announcement that noted both states should "keep up the momentum, proceed in the right direction on the foundation of parity, respect and common gain".

Earlier Talks and Trade Developments

The heads of state convened in the South Korean city of Busan in the fall, after which they reached a ceasefire on import duties. The US chose to slash a import tax in half intended to decrease the supply of opioids.

Duties stay on Chinese goods and stand at nearly 50 percent.

"From that point, the China-US relationship has largely sustained a steady and positive trajectory, and this is appreciated by the two countries and the international community at large," the Beijing's announcement added.

• America then pulled back a potential imposition of full extra duties on Chinese goods, while the Chinese government put off its scheme to implement its recent phase of rare earth export controls.

Commerce Discussions

Official representative Karoline Leavitt commented that the recent conversation with Xi—which took around 60 minutes—was mainly about commerce.

"We are pleased with what we've seen from the China, and they share that sentiment," she noted.

Wider Discussions

In addition to talking about economic matters, Xi and Trump broached the topics of the conflict in Ukraine and the Taiwan situation.

Xi stated to Trump that Taiwan's "return to China" is critical for China's vision for the "world order following wars".

China has been involved in a foreign policy clash with Tokyo, a US ally, over the enduring "strategic ambiguity" on the control of Taiwan.

In the past few weeks, Tokyo's head Sanae Takaichi commented that an eventual military action by China on Taiwan could force a Japanese military response.

Trump, however, did not refer to the Taiwan issue in his social media update about the conversation.

The U.S. representative in Japan, George Glass, noted before that the US supports Tokyo in the aftermath of China's "intimidation".