Trump to visit China on May 14–15 for summit with Xi Jinping

United States President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping will hold their highly anticipated summit in Beijing on May 14-15, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said.

Following Trump's visit, Xi would visit Washington at a date later this year, said the White House Secretary.

Trump was due to visit China later this month but the US president postponed the meeting to focus his attention on the war with Iran.


The war brought fresh strains to US-China ties, even as the two economies sought to navigate lingering issues from a trade detente struck last year and simmering tensions over Taiwan. Iran is a major trading partner for China, the world’s biggest crude importer.

Trump and Xi last met in person in October on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Busan, South Korea.

Trump said last week while meeting with Irish Prime Minister Michel Martin in the Oval Office that he would be going to China in five or six weeks' time instead of at the end of the month. He said he would be rescheduling his trip to China.

“We're working with China, they were fine with it,” Trump said. “I look forward to seeing President Xi. He looks forward to seeing me, I think,” he added.

The US-Israel launched a joint attack on Iran on February 28 and the retaliation by the Islamic nation extended the war to the entire Gulf region.

The US and Israel attack killed Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The joint strikes came after days of build-up, with Trump ramping up the pressure on Tehran to agree to a new deal on its nuclear programme.

The conflict has also taken a major toll on energy supply chains, especially across the Strait of Hormuz.