(Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he was not seeking a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, but added that he may visit China at Xi’s invitation, which Trump said 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 finalized, 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.
The third round of U.S.-China trade talks taking place in Stockholm this week may lay the groundwork ahead of a leaders’ summit in the autumn, analysts say.
A new flare-up of tariffs and export controls would likely impact any plans for a meeting with Xi.
(Reporting by Ismail Shakil in Ottawa; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Lincoln Feast.)
