‘Love to have him’: Trump says Xi to visit US on September 24

Washington: President Donald Trump has announced that Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit the United States on September 24, saying he expects “a lot of good things” from his engagement with the Chinese leader.

Trump disclosed the date on Wednesday (local time) during a meeting with US travel industry executives as he discussed foreign investment, artificial intelligence and America’s economic competition with China.

“By the way, we have the president of China coming on the 24th, it’ll be very exciting, be great, love to have him,” Trump said.

“We have a lot of good things to… with President Xi,” he added, according to a proofread transcript of the meeting.

Trump did not spell out in that passage the detailed agenda for Xi’s visit.

The announcement provides a specific date after Trump told reporters separately in the Oval Office earlier Wednesday that the Chinese leader was coming to the United States.

“I have (Chinese leader Xi Jinping) coming here,” Trump said during that exchange.

Trump linked China repeatedly to his broader argument that the United States was attracting unprecedented levels of investment.

He also claimed that the United States was significantly ahead of China in artificial intelligence.

“AI is going up, and we’re leading China in AI very substantially,” Trump said.

The President has made competition with Beijing over artificial intelligence, semiconductors, advanced manufacturing and other strategic technologies a major element of his economic and national security agenda.

At the same time, he has continued direct engagement with Xi as the world’s two largest economies navigate disputes over trade, technology and geopolitical influence.

Trump also invoked China while discussing the United States’ increasingly contentious relationship with Canada.

People were surprised, he said, when he described Canada as more difficult to deal with than China.

“I have China coming here, a lot of people say, who’s the toughest one to deal with?” Trump said.

“Is it China, sir? Is it China? Is it Vietnam? Is it — I said no, actually it’s Canada. Canada has felt emboldened.”

The September 24 visit would put Trump and Xi face-to-face at a consequential moment in US-China relations.

The two countries remain deeply economically interconnected despite years of tariffs, export controls and restrictions targeting sensitive technologies.

IANS