US, China discuss a Trump-Xi summit for June
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Washington and Beijing have begun discussions about a potential “birthday summit" in June in the U.S. between President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, according to people familiar with the matter.
The discussions, which the people say are in the early stages, come as the Trump administration is ramping up tariff and other trade measures against China. This strategy aims to build leverage for negotiations with Beijing. Trump and Xi, through their representatives, have expressed interest in a summit since Trump won the election in November.
The latest talks on a potential summit in the month when both leaders celebrate birthdays signal a willingness from both sides to inject some goodwill in the relationship amid trade tensions that have unsettled global markets and businesses. Xi was born on June 15, 1953, five years after Trump, who was born on June 14, 1946. Nothing has been firmed up for now, the people cautioned.
Neither the White House nor the Chinese Embassy immediately responded to a request for comment. With economic pressure building in China, Beijing has a strong interest in engaging in negotiations to fend off, or at least slow down, additional tariff hikes and technology restrictions from the U.S. China hopes that a summit between the two leaders could help kick-start the process, according to people familiar with Beijing’s thinking.
Since Trump’s inauguration in January, the administration has threatened, then paused, tariffs on Mexico and Canada, while pledging to impose import duties on Europe and other trading partners. So far, China is the only country that has actually faced across-the-board tariff increases from Trump. Early this month, the White House imposed
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