United States President Donald Trump is planning to host Chinese President Xi Jinping at a two-day summit next month, according to media reports, as his administration seeks to smooth relations with the world’s second-largest economy, says Reuters.
The meeting is tentatively scheduled for April 6-7 at Trump’s Florida Mar-a-Lago resort, U.S. online media outlet Axios reported on Monday, citing officials familiar with the plans.
CNN also reported the planned summit, citing an unnamed administration official. It added the plan was tentative and that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was expected to finalize plans during a trip this week to Asia, which includes a stop in China.
A U.S. administration official, who asked not to be named because no official announcement has been made about the meeting, said the summit was possible but was not confirmed.
China’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The reported summit would follow a string of other recent U.S-China meetings and conversations aimed at mending ties after aggressive criticism of China by Trump during his election campaign.
Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi, who outranks his country’s foreign minister, visited Washington last month to discuss the two countries’ economic ties and security interests, including meetings with Trump and Tillerson.
During his campaign, Trump accused China of unfair trade policies, criticized its island-building in the strategic South China Sea claimed by several countries, and accused it of doing too little to constrain its neighbor, North Korea.