US President Donald Trump will make a two-day visit to China, starting on March 31, a White House official said, quoted by Reuters, BTA reports.
During his visit, Trump will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The two sides will discuss the possibility of extending a trade truce that temporarily halted the growth of tariffs.
"This is going to be something extraordinary," Trump told foreign leaders about his upcoming trip.
The upcoming meeting will be their first in-person meeting since their talks in October in South Korea. Trump then agreed to reduce some tariffs on Chinese goods, and Beijing pledged to step up measures against the illegal trade in fentanyl, resume purchases of American soybeans and guarantee exports of rare earth elements.
Taiwan was not a major topic of discussion at the October meeting, but Xi Jinping raised the issue of US arms sales to the island during their phone call earlier this month. In December, Washington announced the largest-ever arms sale to Taiwan, worth $11.1 billion, including weapons that could be used in a possible Chinese attack. Taipei expects such sales to continue.
China considers Taiwan its territory, a position that Taiwanese authorities reject. The United States maintains formal diplomatic relations with Beijing, but also has informal ties with Taiwan and is its main supplier of weapons. Under U.S. law, Washington is required to provide the island with the means to defend itself.
According to Trump, Xi told Xi during their phone call earlier this month that he would consider further increasing imports of U.S. soybeans. The issue is of particular importance to the president, as China is the world's largest consumer of soybeans.
While Trump has often cited China as a reason for taking tougher foreign policy positions (from Canada to Greenland to Venezuela), in recent months he has softened his tone toward Beijing on key issues, including tariffs, exports of advanced computer chips and drones.