Trump says he will visit Beijing in April and host China’s Xi for a
state visit later next year
[November 25, 2025]
By SEUNG MIN KIM and DIDI TANG
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Monday that he has
accepted an invitation from Chinese leader Xi Jinping to visit Beijing
in April and that he reciprocated by inviting Xi for a state visit to
the U.S. later next year.
Trump made the announcement after he spoke with Xi by phone nearly a
month after the two leaders met in person in South Korea, saying they
discussed issues including Ukraine, fentanyl and purchases of American
soybeans.
“Our relationship with China is extremely strong!” Trump wrote in a
Truth Social post.
Beijing, which announced the phone call first, said nothing about the
state visits but noted that the two leaders discussed trade, Taiwan and
Ukraine. Xi told Trump that Taiwan’s return to mainland China is “an
integral part of the postwar international order,” the Chinese Foreign
Ministry said — a crucial issue to Beijing that Trump did not mention in
his post.
The omissions from each side signal that sticking points remain for the
two superpowers even as they highlight common ground following a series
of talks to ease a trade war that has threatened the global economy.
The conversation came as China-Japan relations have plunged to a new low
following recent remarks from Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.
She said the military in Japan, a key U.S. ally, could get involved if
China were to take action against Taiwan, the self-governing island that
Beijing says must come under its rule.
“My best guess is China is worried about the escalation (in tensions)
with Japan. The reference to Taiwan and the post-World War II order
directly points to the spat with Japan over Taiwan,” said Sun Yun,
director of the China program at the Washington-based think tank Stimson
Center. “They also talked about Ukraine. That is an issue China is
interested in due to the new peace negotiation.”
China's relations with Japan sour
Beijing has denounced Takaichi’s remarks, with Chinese Foreign Minister
Wang Yi saying over the weekend that Japan “crossed a red line that
should not have been touched.”
Xi told Trump on Monday that China and the U.S. should “jointly
safeguard the victory of World War II” after they fought together
against fascism. The U.S. has taken no side on the sovereignty of the
self-governed island but is opposed to the use of force to seize Taiwan.
It is obligated by a domestic law to provide sufficient hardware to the
island to deter any armed attack.
Trump has maintained strategic ambiguity about whether he would send
U.S. troops in case of a war in the Taiwan Strait. His administration
has urged Taiwan to increase its defense budget.
Taiwan's foreign ministry said it received official notification this
month that the Trump administration approved $330 million in arms sales
to Taiwan, including fighter jet parts. Beijing immediately protested,
saying it “grossly violated” the so-called “One China” principle, by
which Beijing considers Taiwan to be part of Chinese territory.
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Trump said nothing publicly about Taiwan, whereas the Chinese
statement said Trump told Xi that the U.S. “understands how
important the Taiwan question is to China.”
Talk of Ukraine
The phone call coincided with the latest push by the Trump
administration to end the war in Ukraine.
Xi expressed hope for a “fair, lasting and binding peace agreement”
in Ukraine and said the crisis should be resolved “at its root,” the
Chinese Foreign Ministry said. Xi stressed Beijing's support for
“all efforts that are conducive to peace,” according to the
statement.
However, Western governments have accused Beijing of enabling the
war through its industrial support for Moscow.
Trump and Xi discussed trade
Trump said on social media that he spoke with Xi about “Fentanyl,
Soybeans and other Farm Products, etc.”
“We have done a good, and very important, deal for our Great Farmers
— and it will only get better,” Trump wrote.
Since he met Xi in South Korea in late October, “there has been
significant progress on both sides in keeping our agreements current
and accurate,” Trump said.
Since then, China has ordered nearly 2 million metric tons of U.S.
soybeans, ending a monthslong boycott, according to data by the U.S.
Department of Agriculture. That is still short of the 12 million
metric tons that the White House said China has agreed to buy before
next year.
Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said Monday on CNBC that
“every sign is their commitment remains true that they will indeed
buy or purchase 12 million metric tons.”
The White House also said China pledged to buy 25 million metric
tons of soybeans in each of the next three years. China has yet to
confirm such figures.
Beijing also placed export restrictions on 13 “drug-making”
chemicals to the United States, Canada and Mexico, including those
that are used to produce the synthetic opioid blamed for tens of
thousands of overdose deaths in the U.S. every year. In return, the
Trump administration reduced tariffs on Chinese goods.
In the call, Xi said ties with the U.S. have “generally maintained a
steady and positive trajectory” following the leaders' summit and
that the two sides should strive to make “more positive progress,”
according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
With the trade dispute easing, Trump wrote, “Now we can set our
sights on the big picture.”
___
Associated Press writer Josh Funk in Omaha, Nebraska, contributed to
the report.
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