ExclusiveWhere? When? How? China and United States at odds over right place and time for next Xi-Trump summit
- Source says Beijing proposes the two leaders meet in Hainan in late March
- Washington wants talks in Florida but nothing is set, US news site reports
Beijing has suggested the next China-US summit take place on the tropical Chinese island of Hainan next month, following suggestions from the White House that US President Donald Trump is eager to meet with his counterpart, Xi Jinping, sooner than later.
“He wants to meet with President Xi very soon,” White House adviser Kellyanne Conway told Fox News on Monday, adding that it “absolutely” looked like both sides were closing in on a deal to end the trade war.
Chinese officials proposed that Chinese President Xi and his US counterpart meet on the southern island around the time of the annual Boao Forum for Asia, which runs from March 26-29, according to a source briefed on the suggestion.
But the proposal was preliminary and the United States had yet to respond to the idea, the source said: “Neither the place nor the timing [of the summit] is finalised.”
US news website Axios also reported on Monday that “Xi may soon come to Mar-a-Lago” to meet Trump in mid-March, citing two unidentified administration officials.
The report said Trump’s Florida resort – where the two leaders first met in April 2017 – was the likely location for the summit but “nothing is set”.