US President Donald Trump will visit China for a state visit with Chinese President Xi Jinping on May 14 and 15, the White House confirmed on Wednesday. The announcement was made by press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who said the visit had been rescheduled due to the ongoing US-Israeli war on Iran.
The trip had originally been planned for next week but was postponed amid the escalating conflict. Leavitt noted that Xi understood the need to delay the visit.
“I’m pleased to announce that President Trump’s long-awaited meeting with President Xi in China will now take place in Beijing on May 14th and 15th,” she said during a press briefing.
She added that Trump and First Lady Melania Trump will host Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, for a reciprocal visit in Washington, DC, later this year, with dates yet to be announced.
Trump’s upcoming trip will mark his first visit to China since 2017, which was the last time a sitting US president travelled to the country. It will also be the first in-person meeting between Trump and Xi since their October meeting in South Korea, where they agreed on a trade truce.
Earlier, Trump had been scheduled to travel to Beijing from March 31 to April 2, as part of his second term, which is now 14 months old. However, the intensifying war involving Iran disrupted US foreign policy priorities and delayed efforts to ease tensions between the world’s two largest economies.
