VP Harris meets with China’s Xi in bid to ‘keep lines open’
President Donald Trump‘s first White House visitor may not be a friend, but he is one of China’s top diplomats.
President Donald Trump‘s first White House visitor may not be a friend, but he is one of China’s top diplomats.
The President’s decision to welcome Chinese President Xi Jinping to the White House on Tuesday is the latest test of U.S. diplomacy in the region.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the visit was a “very important opportunity for President Trump, for our relationship with China to strengthen.”
Xi welcomed Trump to the White House on Tuesday. Trump met with Xi on Sunday in a small meeting at the beginning of their 45-minute meeting each day.
Secretary of Defense James Mattis said China’s “great power” status makes it “a challenging partner,” but it will be “vigilant” to ensure China upholds the “most basic norms” while also seeking a cooperative relationship.
The Trump administration sees China as a longtime American ally and partner and has sought to build on existing cooperation to advance the goal of a 21st century “great power” relationship with the world’s second-largest economy.
Secretary Tillerson said the visit was a “very important opportunity for President Trump to see for himself the progress our two countries are making together. The United States is taking an ever more assertive role in the Asia-Pacific.”
Xi praised Trump’s “America First” policy and welcomed the U.S. president to Beijing on the same day in a bilateral meeting that was first reported by the Reuters news agency.
U.S. Commerce Secretaries Wilbur Ross and Penny Pritzker also participated in the meeting.
During a speech on the final day of the Group of 20 summit in Germany on Friday, Trump said he would “absolutely” be willing to meet with Chinese President Xi, “at the appropriate time.”
“We’re going to make sure that we get together — at the appropriate time,” Trump said