'I may go to China, but…': Donald Trump over meeting with Xi Jinping
Last week too, Donald Trump said he was considering the visit following an official invitation by China's Xi Jinping
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday clarified that he is not pursuing a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, but left the door open for a possible visit to China — provided it is at Beijing's request.
“I may go to China, but it would only be at the invitation of President Xi Jinping, which has been extended. Otherwise, no interest!,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The statement by the US President comes when, last week too, he said he was considering the visit following an official invitation. "President Xi has invited me to China, and we'll probably be doing that in the not-too-distant future," Trump told reporters in the White House's Oval Office, reported Reuters.
“A little bit out, but not too distant. And I've been invited by a lot of people, and we'll make those decisions pretty soon,” he added.
According to a Reuters report citing two people familiar with the planning, aides from both the Washington and Beijing have held early discussions about a potential meeting between the two leaders. The meeting could take place during Trump’s upcoming trip to Asia later this year.
While plans remain unfinalized, discussions have included a possible Trump stopover during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in South Korea, scheduled from October 30 to November 1, or separate talks on the sidelines of that event.
Trump, Jinping and Putin meet
Another option reportedly under consideration is Trump attending a September 3 ceremony in Beijing commemorating the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two, an event Russian President Vladimir Putin also plans to attend, reported the news agency.
If held, the meetings with Xi or Putin would mark the first in-person encounters between Trump and the two leaders since his second-term inauguration on January 20. Both the White House and China’s foreign affairs ministry have declined to comment on the Reuters report.
Meanwhile, there's continued uncertainty over US-China relations on the trade agreement front. On Sunday, Trump said his administration was nearing a trade agreement with Beijing, though he stopped short of offering specifics.
"We're very close to a deal with China. We really sort of made a deal with China, but we'll see how that goes," Trump said during a meeting with European commission president Ursula von der Leyen in Scotland.
