U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he is not pursuing a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping but may visit China at Xi’s invitation, which he confirmed had been extended.
“I may go to China, but it would only be at the invitation of President Xi, which has been extended. Otherwise, no interest!,” Trump said on Truth Social.
Aides to Trump and Xi have discussed a potential meeting between the leaders during a trip by the U.S. president to Asia later this year, sources previously told Reuters.
A trip would be the first face-to-face encounter between the men since Trump’s second term in office, at a time when trade and security tensions between the two superpower rivals remain elevated.
While plans for a meeting have not been finalised, discussions on both sides of the Pacific have included a possible Trump stopover around the time of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea or talks on the sidelines of the October 30-November 1 event, the people said.
A new flare-up of tariffs and export controls would likely impact any plans for a meeting with Xi.
Third Round Of Talks
Top U.S. and Chinese economic officials met in Stockholm on Monday for more than five hours of talks aimed at resolving longstanding economic disputes at the centre of a trade war between the world’s top two economies, seeking to extend a truce by three months.
U.S. Treasury Chief Scott Bessent was part of a U.S. negotiating team that arrived at Rosenbad, the Swedish prime minister’s office in central Stockholm, in the early afternoon. China’s Vice Premier He Lifeng was also seen at the venue on video footage.
China is facing an August 12 deadline to reach a durable tariff agreement with President Donald Trump’s administration, after Beijing and Washington reached preliminary deals in May and June to end weeks of escalating tit-for-tat tariffs and a cut-off of rare earth minerals.
Negotiators from the two sides were seen exiting the office around 8 p.m. (1800 GMT) and did not stop to speak with reporters. The discussions are expected to resume on Tuesday.
Trump touched on the talks during a wide-ranging press conference with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Scotland.
“I’d love to see China open up their country,” Trump said.
(With inputs from Reuters)
