TRUMP'S POSTPONED MEETING WITH XI IN BEIJING TO BE HELD MAY 14-15

WASHINGTON, March 26 (Bernama-Kyodo) -- US President Donald Trump will hold a "long-awaited" meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on May 14 and 15, the White House said Wednesday, after the trip was postponed earlier this month due to the ongoing war with Iran, Kyodo News reported.

Trump's visit to China, his first since returning to office in January last year, was originally scheduled for March 31 to April 2. But despite months of preparations, it was pushed back as he wanted to remain in the United States to focus on the war that his country and Israel had initiated weeks earlier.

White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt, who announced the new dates, also told a press briefing that Trump and his wife Melania will host Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan for a reciprocal visit in Washington "at a later date to be announced this year".

Shortly after the announcement, Trump confirmed on social media that he is set to meet with Xi over the two days.

"Our representatives are finalising preparations for these historic visits. I look very much forward to spending time with President Xi in what will be, I am sure, a monumental event," Trump wrote.

Last week, Trump said China was "fine" with rescheduling his trip to Beijing and that it would take place in "five or six weeks".

With the war upending global markets as the Strait of Hormuz, a critical passage for energy transport from West Asia to Asia, remains largely blocked, Trump has repeatedly called on China, as well as US allies, to help reopen shipping traffic in the narrow waterway.

Asked during the briefing whether the Trump administration expects the war to wind down by mid-May, Leavitt struck an optimistic tone, saying, "We've always estimated approximately four to six weeks" for the duration of the military operation against Iran.

"So, you could do the math on that," she said. "I know the president looks forward to going to China on May 14th and 15th."

Since agreeing with Xi in October last year to extend a truce in their trade war for a one-year period, Trump has suggested the two countries have been making progress on the economic front and putting their relations on a more stable footing.

Major topics expected to be discussed at the planned summit include trade and Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, as well as additional Chinese purchases of US farm and other products. Trump has wished to secure such purchases ahead of November's midterm elections.

Trump last visited China in 2017 during his first term. Although he kicked off his nonconsecutive second term by taking an aggressive tariff approach toward the Asian economic powerhouse, the two sides have maintained a fragile detente on trade since May last year and agreed to extend a truce on tit-for-tat escalations.

Trump, who made the agreement with Xi in late October in South Korea, has softened his stance toward China and reiterated he has a good relationship with the Chinese president.

-- BERNAMA-KYODO