China confirms President Xi Jinping’s three-day trip to Japan this week
- Leader will arrive on Thursday, ahead of G20 summit in Osaka, foreign ministry says
- He is expected to hold talks with Donald Trump on sidelines of meeting
President Xi Jinping will attend the G20 summit in Osaka this week, China’s foreign ministry said on Sunday, confirming his first visit to Japan since taking office in 2013.
Xi will travel to Japan on Thursday and is expected to meet his US counterpart Donald Trump on the sidelines of the meeting of leading and emerging economies, which runs from Friday to Saturday.
It is possible the pair will hold formal negotiations over dinner, as they did in Argentina in December at the last G20 summit.
The South China Morning Post reported last week that trade negotiators from China and the US – the former led by Vice-Premier Liu He and the latter by Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin – could meet in Osaka as early as Tuesday.
Xi’s attendance at the G20 leaders’ summit and his meeting with Trump will be closely watched around the world as markets and analysts look for signs of where Sino-US relations might be heading.