President Donald Trump has announced China’s President Xi Jinping will be making a visit to the U.S. amid the ongoing trade war between the two nations.
According to Newsweek, Trump told reporters Monday that Xi would be making a trip to Washington, D.C., soon, despite relations being strained as the number two economy in the world has had tariffs put on exports to the U.S.
Trump announced China would be subject to tariffs, citing its involvement in fentanyl coming into the U.S., and China not doing enough to stop it. In response, China has implemented retaliatory tariffs, putting further pressure on the relationship.
The remarks were made during a board meeting at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, with Trump saying Xi “and top people underneath him” will be coming to the U.S. in the “not too distant future,” but did not elaborate further on when that would be.
The Chinese leader’s last visit was in 2023 at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit that was held in San Francisco.
During a press conference Tuesday, China’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning said she had no information to share on a potential visit by Xi when asked about it by a Reuter’s reporter. Mao was further asked about the U.S. Commerce Department saying that the use of “DeepSeek,” a Chinese engineered AI model, is banned on government devices.
“On your first question, I have no information to read out on that,” Mao said. “On your second question, China opposes overstretching the concept of national security and politicizing trade and tech issues. We will firmly safeguard the lawful rights and interests of Chinese enterprises.”
Mao was then asked about Chinese authorities’ investigation in CK Hutchison, which sold its overseas ports in Panama to BlackRock, a move that has reportedly made Xi furious.
“Let me stress more broadly that China firmly opposes moves that infringe on and undermine other countries’ legitimate rights and interests through economic coercion, hegemonism and bullying,” Mao said.
