President Donald Trump stands beside Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Temple of Heaven in Beijing. [Mark Schiefelbein/AP Photo
WASHINGTON, DC – During his toast at the state banquet in Beijing on Thursday, President Donald Trump stated that a date has been scheduled for Chinese President Xi Jinping to visit the White House.
According to President Trump, he looks forward to meeting with Xi again this fall, saying, “It is my honor to extend an invitation to you and Madame Peng [Liyuan] to visit us at the White House this September 24, and we look forward to it.”
“Chinese workers helped lay the railroad tracks that connected our Atlantic coast to the Pacific,” Trump further stated. “American travelers to China helped spread literacy and modern medicine, and at the request of China’s ambassador, it was President Theodore Roosevelt who provided the funds to establish President Xi’s alma mater, Tsinghua University.”
The visit would mark Xi Jinping’s first visit to the White House since 2015, and President Trump is the first American president to visit Beijing since his previous visit in 2017.
President Trump and President Xi have been discussing everything from economic issues to the war in Iran during their state visit in Beijing, and Trump told Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Thursday that Xi is willing to assist the United States with the war, saying, “President Xi would like to see a deal made; he would, he would like to see a deal made. And he did offer. He said, ‘If I can be of any assistance at all, I would like to be of help.’”
The war has had a significant economic impact on Chinese markets, as roughly 45% to 50% of China’s crude oil imports travel via the Strait of Hormuz. According to the US Energy Information Administration, despite the Strait supplying just 2% of America’s oil, gas prices in the United States have increased by more than 50% since the start of the war.
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