Beijing official on Xi's April talks with Trump

April 05, 2017

published: 2017-04-05 10:22:07 (31 Mar 2017) The Vice Foreign Minister of China said on Friday he hoped that the upcoming meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping next month can set the “correct direction” for the growth of bilateral relations. The comments by Zheng Zeguang at a Ministry of Foreign Affairs briefing came after it was announced the two leaders will meet for the first time at Trump’s Florida resort on April 6-7 amid a range of pressing issues including trade, North Korea and territorial disputes in the South China Sea. The relationship between the world’s No. 1 and No. 2 economies has been uncertain following the election of Trump, who accused China during his campaign of unfair trade practices and threatened to raise import taxes on Chinese goods and declare Beijing a currency manipulator. In February, Trump reaffirmed Washington’s long-standing “one China” policy in a call with Xi, in an apparent move to ease concerns in China that he might use Taiwan as leverage in negotiations over trade, security and other sensitive issues. The policy in place since 1979 requires Washington to maintain only unofficial ties with Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory.

A statement from the White House said the two leaders will discuss global, regional and bilateral issues of mutual concern.