US President Trump said he is looking forward to meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping, indicating that despite renewed tensions between the world's two largest economies, he still plans to move forward with the highly anticipated summit.
At a White House event on Monday, Trump said, "I will be going to meet President Xi in two weeks, and I am looking forward to the trip." He added, "This is actually going to be a very important trip."
Trump previously announced plans to visit China from May 14th to 15th, a trip that carries significant stakes for both Washington and Beijing as the two sides seek to address trade and other challenges, including Taiwan and the war in Iran. US and Chinese officials have been preparing for the summit for months, including discussing the establishment of a new bilateral mechanism to help manage economic relations.
Conflict in the Middle East had already delayed this meeting once, spurring concerns in the financial markets that it would add further complications to an already complex bilateral relationship. Last year’s tit-for-tat tariff measures between the US and China had raised concerns over a global economic downturn, though relations have largely stabilized since then.
On the other hand, Senator Daines of Montana, a Republican closely allied with Trump, has once again led a delegation to China, following his visit last year. The bipartisan delegation of five, led by Daines, began their trip to China last Friday (Labor Day), visiting Shanghai and Beijing.
The report cited comments from Diao Daming, professor at the School of International Studies at Renmin University of China and deputy director of its American Studies Center. Diao said Daines is widely viewed within the Republican Party as an important figure for US-China communication, especially in promoting communication in the field of China-US economic and trade relations, and that his stance on China is relatively pragmatic within the party. Daines’ visit to China will undoubtedly help continue to stabilize bilateral relations.
Diao also said, "If Trump’s visit to China takes place within May, Daines’ visit happens to fall within the preliminary window of possible high-level US visits to China, and can facilitate early communications and convey positions, creating a positive atmosphere for subsequent important high-level interactions between China and the US."