March 19, 2025 (EIRNS)—There has been much speculation in the press about when President Trump will resume his working relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping, much as he has done with Russia’s Vladimir Putin. Speaking during a visit to Washington’s John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Monday, Trump himself said the Chinese leader would be “coming in the not too distant future,” according to an article filed by the Financial Times.
The FT’s spin, however, is that Xi is not likely to accept the invitation until the smoke clears on the tariff brawl between the two countries. “Christopher Johnson, a former top CIA China analyst, said a visit early in Trump’s term would be ‘a coup’ for the US leader. But he said Xi was unlikely to agree unless there was a secret bilateral channel that gave him confidence to risk a visit. ‘Xi’s every instinct is militating against a visit too soon. He concluded his early visit to Mar-a-Lago in Trump’s first term was a mistake,’ said Johnson, who heads China Strategies Group, a consultancy.”
But various feelers are out. “Xi is expected to meet dozens of chief executives from the US and other countries next week following the China Development Forum, a high-profile event where executives can engage with top Chinese officials. Steve Daines, a Montana Republican senator who is close to Trump, will attend the Beijing forum, in a rare move by a US politician that he hopes will lead to a meeting with Xi on behalf of the American president.”
