U.S. President Donald Trump said he had maintained a good relationship with the leader of the Chinese communist regime despite some differences.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Jan. 22 that he will visit China in April and expects Chinese leader Xi Jinping to visit the United States later this year.
Trump said he had maintained a good relationship with Xi despite their countries’ differences on certain issues, citing the strained ties during the COVID-19 period amid disputes over the origin of the virus.
“I’m going to make a trip. I’m going in April, [Xi will] come toward the end of the year. And I look forward to seeing President Xi,” Trump told reporters on board Air Force One.
Relations between the United States and China have been tense after the two sides engaged in a tariff war in April 2025, which pushed U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods to 145 percent and Chinese tariffs on U.S. imports to 125 percent.
China, the world’s largest soybean importer, had also halted purchases of U.S. soybeans in response to the trade dispute, resulting in billions of dollars in lost sales for American farmers.
The two countries later reached an agreement to temporarily lower tariffs and ease certain trade restrictions.
In November 2025, the U.S. government extended its reprieve on tariffs on some Chinese products for one year, and China resumed buying U.S. soybeans after Trump and Xi held talks on the sidelines of the APEC summit in South Korea on Oct. 30, 2025.
Trump told reporters that China’s purchase of U.S. soybeans was a sign of good relations.
“They’re buying a lot of soybeans, and that makes our farmers happy, and that makes me happy,” he said at the time.
Beijing has not publicly commented on Trump’s Jan. 22 remarks or confirmed the visit.
Trump had previously announced a potential visit in a Nov. 24, 2025, post on Truth Social.
He said that during a call, Xi invited him to visit Beijing in April 2026, while Xi was set to make a state visit to the United States “later in the year.” The two leaders discussed a range of topics during the phone call, including the conflict in Ukraine, fentanyl, soybeans, and other farm products.
