US President Donald Trump will travel to China from March 31 to April 2, a White House official confirmed on Friday, February 20 (local time), according to Reuters.
The trip was announced as the US Supreme Court overturned Trump’s sweeping tariffs on imported goods, which he used in a global trade war, including some against rival China.
Earlier, at the Board of Peace Event on Februray 19, US President Donald Trump had said, “…I have a very good relationship with President Xi. I’m going to be going to China in April. That’s going to be a wild one.”
“Last time I went to China, President Xi treated me so well. He gave me a display. I never saw so many soldiers all the same height, exactly the same height. I said, if they put their helmets down, you could have played pool on the top of their heads. And it was pretty amazing…,” Trump had said.
Meanwhile, the Chinese embassy in Washington declined to comment on the dates of the trip, which were first reported by Reuters. Beijing has not confirmed the trip.
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Trump’s talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on an extended visit to Beijing had been expected to revolve around extending a trade truce that kept both countries from further hiking tariffs.
Taiwan is also expected to figure into US-China talks. China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, a position Taipei rejects.
Impact of Supreme Court tariff ruling
The latest Supreme Court ruling invalidating Trump’s tariffs created new questions for tense US-China relations.
The relations between the two countries had recently stabilised after Trump trimmed tariffs on Chinese goods, in exchange for measures from Beijing, including cracking down on the illicit fentanyl trade and pausing export restrictions on critical minerals.
Twenty-percent tariffs on China’s US-bound exports were imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, which the court ruled Trump had overstepped. Those tariffs were tied to national emergencies related to fentanyl distribution and trade imbalances.
Other duties on Chinese goods, including those implemented under legislated trade authorities known as Section 301 and Section 232, remain in place.
It was not immediately clear how many of the tariffs Trump would restore, but he told a press conference that he would impose a new 10% global tariff for 150 days.
Taiwan factor
Trump’s visit will be his first in-person talks since an October meeting in South Korea, where they agreed on the trade truce
While the October meeting largely sidestepped the sensitive issue of Taiwan, Xi raised US arms sales to the island when the two leaders spoke this month.
China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, a position Taipei rejects. The US, bound by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself, has formal diplomatic ties with China, but it maintains unofficial ties with Taiwan and is the island’s most important arms supplier.
Washington announced its largest-ever arms sale approval with Taiwan in December, including $11.1 billion in weapons that could ostensibly be used to defend against a Chinese attack. Taiwan expects more such sales.
Soybean purchases: Why it matters for farmers
Xi Jinping said during the February call that he would consider further increasing soybean purchases, according to Trump.
Struggling US farmers are a major political constituency for Trump, and China is the top soybean consumer.
Analysts told Reuters on Friday that China may be less likely to follow through on another big purchase of US soybeans after the Supreme Court ruling.
Advanced computer chips and drones
Although Trump has justified hawkish policy steps from Canada to Greenland and Venezuela as necessary to thwart China, he has eased policy toward Beijing in the past several months in areas from tariffs to advanced computer chips and drones.
The global trade war Trump initiated after he began his second term as president in January 2025 has alienated other trading partners, including allies.
Critics had argued that imposing steep tariffs on countries across the board actually insulated Beijing from the tariff barrage and reduced incentives to move supply chains out of China.
Friday’s ruling could indirectly increase pressure on Beijing if the effective tariff rates on other countries, particularly in Southeast Asia, fall more than those on China, said Martin Chorzempa, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute of International Economics.
“Unlike with many other countries, there is a well-established, much more legally durable mechanism for most of the tariffs on China that make them less affected than those on other countries,” Chorzempa said.
(With inputs from Reuters)
Key Takeaways
- Trump’s upcoming trip to China is expected to focus on extending a trade truce and addressing tariff issues, particularly in light of a recent Supreme Court ruling that invalidated some of his tariffs.
- Taiwan is likely to be a significant topic in the discussions, as the U.S. maintains unofficial ties with Taiwan and has recently approved a large arms sale to the island, which China views as part of its territory.
- China’s potential increase in soybean purchases from the U.S. may be impacted by the Supreme Court ruling, raising concerns about the willingness of China to follow through on large orders, given its status as a major consumer of U.S. soybeans.
