BEIJING — Beijing said on Monday it was ready to work with the United States in pursuit of “more stability” and confirmed that Donald Trump will visit China this week, the first U.S. president to do so since 2017.
China’s Call for Stability
“China is willing to work with the United States in the spirit of equality, respect, and mutual benefit, to expand cooperation, manage differences, and inject more stability and certainty into a volatile and intertwined world,” foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told a regular news briefing.
Washington and Beijing have been at loggerheads over key issues ranging from trade tariffs to the Middle East war and Taiwan, which China claims as part of its territory.
Trade Talks Ahead of Summit
Top trade negotiators from both countries will meet in Seoul a day before Trump’s summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping to iron out details on trade and economic issues, a sign of the trip’s high stakes. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will set up the visit during talks with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in Seoul on Wednesday. Bessent and He have been the chief negotiators for the United States and China on all trade and economic issues. Those talks are likely to put the finishing touches on any announcements that will be made during the leaders’ summit.
Bessent will arrive in Seoul after meeting Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in Tokyo on Tuesday. Takaichi’s comments in November on Taiwan triggered an ongoing diplomatic row with Beijing.
“Economic security is national security, and I look forward to a productive series of engagements as we work to advance President Trump’s America First Economic Agenda,” Bessent said as he announced both stops on social media.
Trump’s Visit Details
The White House announced Trump’s visit several weeks ago, and China’s foreign ministry has now confirmed it will go ahead from Wednesday until Friday. The U.S. leader was originally meant to visit in late March or early April, but postponed his trip to focus on the U.S.-Israel war with Iran.
This is the first visit by a U.S. president to China since Trump’s previous visit in 2017, and is expected to include a tour of the Temple of Heaven in Beijing and a lavish state banquet. The White House has said it is of “tremendous symbolic significance”, and promised that Trump will “deliver more good deals” for Americans.
Trump and Xi last met face-to-face in October on the sidelines of a regional summit in South Korea. They agreed then to a one-year truce in a blistering trade war that saw tariffs on many goods exceed 100 percent.
