Trump Announces He Plans to Travel to China in April Subsequent to Phone Conversation with Xi

President Donald Trump has declared that he will visit the Chinese capital in April and asked Chinese President Xi Jinping for a official visit next year, after a phone call between the two leaders.

Trump and Xi—who met recently in South Korea—covered a series of matters including trade, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, fentanyl, and the island of Taiwan, per the president and China's foreign ministry.

"Bilateral relations is extremely strong!" Trump wrote in a online message.

China's state news agency published a comment that noted both states should "maintain progress, keep moving forward in the positive way on the basis of parity, mutual respect and mutual benefit".

Earlier Talks and Commerce Progress

The officials convened in the South Korean city of Busan in October, subsequently they reached a ceasefire on trade taxes. The U.S. government decided to reduce a 20 percent duty by half aimed at the flow of fentanyl.

Duties remain on imports and average nearly 50 percent.

"From that point, the Sino-American ties has mostly kept a steady and positive trajectory, and this is appreciated by the each side and the international community at large," the Beijing's announcement noted.

• The United States then withdrew a threat of full extra duties on China's exports, while China postponed its plan to implement its new set of limits on mineral exports.

Commerce Discussions

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the phone discussion with Xi—which lasted about an hour—was centered on commerce.

"We are satisfied with what we've witnessed from the Chinese, and they feel the same way," she noted.

Broader Topics

Along with talking about trade, Xi and Trump raised the subjects of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the island.

Xi told Trump that the island's "reunification with China" is vital for Beijing's perspective for the "post-war international order".

China has been involved in a political dispute with Japan, a US ally, over the enduring "uncertain policy" on the authority of Taiwan.

Earlier this month, Japan's leader Sanae Takaichi commented that any military action by China on Taiwan could compel a Japanese military response.

Trump, however, did not mention the island in his Truth Social post about the conversation.

The U.S. representative in Japan, George Glass, had earlier stated that the US backs the Japanese in the aftermath of Beijing's "intimidation".