Mr. Trump wants to postpone meeting with Mr. Xi

“I really want to go, but because of the war situation, I want to stay here. I feel like I have to stay here. So, we proposed to postpone the meeting for about a month,” US President Donald Trump answered the media at the White House on March 16 when asked about his upcoming visit to China.

“Very simple. We are at war. I think it is important for me to stay here, so maybe we will postpone a little, but not for long,” President Trump continued, emphasizing that he has “very good relations” with China and did not have any tactical intentions in postponing the visit.

“There’s no trickery here, it’s not like ‘I’m waiting for something,'” Mr. Trump said.

Chinese officials have not yet commented on the information.

The White House said in February that President Trump planned to visit China on March 31-April 2 and hold talks with President Xi Jinping. This will be Mr. Trump’s first time in Beijing since his last visit during his first term in 2017.

Mr. Trump on March 15 mentioned the possibility of postponing the meeting with Mr. Xi, and the decision depends on whether China supports reopening the Strait of Hormuz or not. Iran is blocking the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for the US and Israel launching a campaign against the country at the end of February.

On March 16, the US and China both announced that the meeting between the two countries’ delegations in Paris, France last weekend was “sincere and constructive”. The meeting was described as aiming to create a premise for a meeting between the leaders of the two countries.

“Diplomatic activities between heads of state play an irreplaceable strategic guiding role in China-US relations,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian.

Mr. Xi is also expected to visit the US later this year, but the specific time has not been announced. The last time the Chinese President visited the US was in 2023.