Donald Trump confirms April visit to China

New Delhi, Nov 25: US President Donald Trump confirmed that he has agreed to visit Beijing in April and has invited Chinese President Xi Jinping for a state visit to Washington later next year.

The decision followed a phone call between the two leaders, who discussed trade,

Taiwan, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the fentanyl crisis, according to the White House and China’s foreign ministry as reported by BBC.

“Our relationship with China is extremely strong!” Trump said in a post on Truth Social following the call.

The conversation lasted nearly an hour, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said, with trade described as the primary focus.

The latest outreach comes less than a month after the two leaders met in Busan, South Korea, where they agreed to halt further tariff escalations.

The United States also cut a 20% tariff in half as part of an effort to limit the flow of fentanyl into the country.

Despite limited progress, average US tariffs on Chinese goods still hover just below 50 percent.

China’s state news agency issued a statement saying the two sides should “keep up the momentum, keep moving forward in the right direction on the basis of equality, respect and mutual benefit”.

It added that the relationship between both countries has shown “a steady and positive trajectory” since the Busan meeting – a development “welcomed by the two countries and the broader international community”.

Following the October summit, Washington stepped back from an earlier threat to impose 100 percent additional tariffs on Chinese products, while Beijing postponed its planned expansion of rare earth export controls, a key bargaining chip in global supply chains.

The upcoming April visit will be closely monitored worldwide, coming at a time when China’s economic recovery remains uneven and the US presidential campaign rhetoric continues to emphasise economic competition with Beijing.