WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� President will travel to Beijing for a rescheduled summit with Chinese President on May 14 and 15, the White House announced on Wednesday.
Trump had been scheduled to travel to China later this month but previously announced he was delaying the trip so he could be in Washington to help steward the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran. The Republican president had announced a rescheduled trip even though the war in Iran continues and the U.S. is pressing Tehran to accept a ceasefire proposal.
The president and first lady Melania Trump also plan to host Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, for a White House visit later this year, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
Leavitt, when asked if the new dates for Trump’s trip could suggest he believes the Iran war could end soon, offered an optimistic tone that the conflict could reach an endgame before he travels.
鈥淲e鈥檝e always estimated four to six weeks,鈥� Leavitt responded. 鈥淪o you could do the math on that.鈥�
The United States and Israel launched on Feb. 28.
The China trip had been but began to unravel as Trump to use their military might to protect the , a critical waterway for the flow of oil. The strait has been effectively closed as Iran targets and traffic through it.
Trump said last week while meeting with Irish Prime Minister Miche谩l Martin in the Oval Office that he would be going to China in five or six weeks鈥� time instead of at the end of the month. He said he would be 鈥渞esetting鈥� his visit with Xi.
鈥淲e鈥檙e working with China 鈥� they were fine with it,鈥� Trump said then. 鈥淚 look forward to seeing President Xi. He looks forward to seeing me, I think.鈥�
Trump鈥檚 visit to China is seen as an opportunity to build on a fragile trade truce between the two superpowers, but it has become tangled in his effort to find an endgame to the war in Iran. Soon after pressing China and other nations to send warships to secure access to Middle Eastern oil, Trump indicated last week that his travel plans depended on Beijing鈥檚 response, though he added then that the U.S. didn鈥檛 need help from the allies that rebuffed his request.
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