The President of the United States, Donald Trump, could travel to China in April to meet with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, amid the tense relationship between the two powers due to their trade disputes, according to the Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post.
According to sources cited by the newspaper, both Trump and Xi want the other side to make the trip to present it as a diplomatic victory, but initial discussions focus on the possible visit of Trump to China. A Chinese source pointed out that discussions between Beijing and Washington have been hindered by the drastic changes occurring in the U.S. capital under Joe Biden's administration.
Trump had expressed his desire for Xi to visit his property in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, where both leaders met in 2017. However, Chinese authorities preferred a more formal meeting in Beijing or Washington.
Trump had previously expressed his intention to travel to China in the first 100 days of his presidency, just before taking office. He had a phone call with Xi that he described as very positive just before his inauguration.
Trump's potential visit to China would occur at a time when trade tensions between the two nations continue to rise. Recently, Beijing imposed new tariffs on U.S. agricultural products in response to similar measures from Washington.
Trump's imposition of tariffs has been justified by the entry of fentanyl into the United States, something that Chinese authorities consider an unfounded pretext given their strict anti-drug policy.
During his first term, Trump applied several tariffs on Chinese products, to which China responded with similar measures. In February, China established tariffs on U.S. products and took actions against companies like Google.
The potential meeting between Trump and Xi Jinping is expected to become a crucial opportunity to address the commercial and diplomatic differences that exist between the two nations.
