Trump agrees to visit China after ‘very good talk’ with Chinese president

US President, Donald Trump has said he will visit China after speaking with its leader, Xi Jinping, over the phone.

The US president said he had reciprocated an invite to the White House during what he described as a “very good talk” — although such a trip has not yet been confirmed by either side.

Thursday’s call was the first time the two leaders had spoken since Trump launched a trade war with Beijing in February.

Chinese state media reported the call was made at the White House’s request.

Trump wrote on social media that the hour-and-a-half conversation focused mainly on trade and “resulted in a very positive conclusion for both countries.”

Speaking in the Oval Office while meeting German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Trump said: “He invited me to China and I invited him here.”

“We both accepted, so I will be going there with the first lady at a certain point and he will be coming here hopefully with the first lady of China.”

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The Chinese readout of the call mentioned China’s invitation but did not reference the reciprocal invite to the White House.

According to Chinese state news agency Xinhua, Xi told Trump the US should “withdraw the negative measures it has taken against China.”

The Chinese leader also said that China always kept its promises and, since a consensus had been reached, both sides should abide by it — referring to a recent deal struck in Geneva.

Both nations have accused each other of breaching the deal, which aimed to dramatically reduce trade tariffs — a deal Trump touted as a “total reset.”

The conflict came after Trump raised tariffs on imports from multiple countries, reserving the highest rates for China.

Beijing responded with its own tariffs on US goods, sparking tit-for-tat increases that peaked at 145%.

The tentative truce agreed in May brought the US tariff on Chinese products down to 30%, while China lowered levies on US imports to 10% and promised to lift barriers on critical mineral exports.

The agreement gave both sides a 90-day deadline to try to reach a trade deal.

Since then, talks appear to have stalled amid mutual accusations of breaching the deal.

The US has accused China of failing to restart shipments of critical minerals and rare earth magnets vital to the car and computer industries.

China’s Ministry of Commerce denied the claims and accused the US of undermining the deal by imposing new restrictions on computer chips.

Trump introduced new export restrictions on semiconductor design software and said the US would revoke visas for some Chinese students.

After the call, Trump said: “There should no longer be any questions respecting the complexity of Rare Earth products.”

He also told reporters at the White House: “Chinese students can come, no problem, no problem – it’s an honour to have them frankly. But we want to check them.”

Chinese state media reported that Xi warned Washington to handle Taiwan “with caution” to avoid conflict.

This came days after US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth called China an “imminent” threat to the self-governed island.

Hegseth told the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore that Beijing was “credibly preparing to potentially use military force to alter the balance of power.”

China regards Taiwan as a breakaway province destined for reunification, and has not ruled out using force.

The US supports Taiwan militarily but does not officially recognise it due to the “One China” policy.

According to the Chinese readout of Thursday’s call, Xi stressed the US should handle the “Taiwan issue prudently to prevent a small number of Taiwan Independence separatists from dragging China and the US into a dangerous situation of conflict and confrontation.”

The call was long awaited after months of silence between the two leaders.

The White House had suggested talks might happen from week one of Trump’s presidency.

Earlier this week, Trump expressed frustration on social media.

He wrote: “I like President Xi of China, always have, and always will, but he is VERY TOUGH, AND EXTREMELY HARD TO MAKE A DEAL WITH!”

Trump has made clear he prefers to be involved in negotiations.

However, Beijing typically appoints a negotiating team led by trusted officials.

(BBC)

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