China announced its readiness to work with the United States to expand cooperation and resolve differences between the two countries, ahead of the expected visit of US President Donald Trump to Beijing this week, in a move seen as a new attempt to contain tension between the two largest economies in the world.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Gu Jiaqun stressed that high-level diplomacy plays an essential role in determining the course of Chinese-American relations, stressing Beijing’s readiness to work with Washington according to the principles of “equality, respect, and mutual benefit.”
“China is ready to work with the United States to expand cooperation and resolve differences, so as to achieve greater stability and certainty in a world full of contradictions and instability,” Giaccon said.
These statements come as Beijing officially confirms that US President Donald Trump will visit China between May 13 and 15, at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, in Trump’s first visit to China since 2017.
The upcoming summit is expected to address a group of sensitive files, most notably the Iranian war, trade tensions between the two countries, in addition to the issues of Taiwan, artificial intelligence, and nuclear weapons.
According to American officials, Trump and Xi will also discuss the possibility of extending the vital minerals agreement, in light of American concern about Chinese influence on global supply chains for rare earths.
These are the first direct talks between the two leaders in more than six months, at a time when relations between Washington and Beijing are witnessing increasing tension due to trade disputes, geopolitical competition, and security developments in the Middle East.
Trump is scheduled to arrive in Beijing on Wednesday, and official meetings will be held on Thursday and Friday, amid wide international anticipation of the results of this visit and its repercussions on the hot international issues.
The last meeting between Trump and Xi Jinping was held last October in South Korea, where they then reached an understanding to suspend the trade war that witnessed the imposition of high US customs duties on Chinese goods, in exchange for Chinese threats to restrict exports of rare earths.
The anticipated visit comes at a sensitive international moment, with the escalation of war in the region and tensions related to Iran, in addition to the growing competition between Washington and Beijing over economic, technological and military influence, which makes the summit a turning point in shaping the features of the next phase of relations between the two world powers.
