Trump’s Beijing trip delayed until May over Iran issues

Trump stated that he was excited for the "monumental" trip, which was initially scheduled for the end of March, and mentioned he would host Xi and his wife in Washington later this year.

"My meeting with the Highly Respected President of China, President Xi Jinping, which was originally postponed due to our Military operation in Iran, has been rescheduled, and will take place in Beijing on May 14th and 15th," Trump said on his Truth Social network, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.

Trump said US and Chinese officials were "finalizing preparations" for the "historic" Beijing and Washington visits.

"I look very much forward to spending time with President Xi in what will be, I am sure, a Monumental Event," Trump added.

The White House had announced the new dates shortly before Trump's social media post.

Trump had been set to travel to Beijing between March 31 and April for the first time in his second term, for a summit aimed at resetting trade ties between the world's two largest economies.

The Chinese and US presidents met in South Korea in October on the sidelines of a regional summit, and agreed a truce in the trade war sparked by Trump's sweeping global tariffs.

But Trump said on March 16 that he had asked China to postpone the meeting while he deals with the war in the Middle East.

"Because of the war I want to be here, I have to be here, I feel. And so we've requested that we delay it a month or so," Trump told reporters at the time.

News.Az 

By Ulviyya Salmanli