US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping today held talks in Beijing.
The meeting marked Trump’s first visit to China during his second stint of presidency. According to the White House, the two sides agreed that the Strait of Hormuz must remain open to support the free flow of energy. It said, Mr. Trump had a good meeting with President Xi.
Addressing the gathering after the meeting, President of China Xi Jinping stressed on fostering cooperation over confrontation saying that the China and the United States should be partners, not rivals.
He highlighted that both nations had more common interests than differences and called for a new chapter in bilateral relations. Mr. Trump responded with an equally positive tone, saying US-China relations would become better than ever before.
He highlighted the presence of leading American business executives in his delegation, including major technology and corporate figures. He said US is eager to expand trade and investment opportunities with China.
The talks also took place against the backdrop of the Iran conflict and rising political pressure in Washington. The US President is on a three-day state visit to China.
Accompanying Trump on his trip to China are some of the US’s top business leaders such as Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, Tim Cook of Apple, Elon Musk of Tesla and SpaceX, and Larry Fink of BlackRock.
Ahead of Trump’s visit, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi made his first visit to Beijing after the war and held talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi. After talks with Araghchi, Wang called on Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz as soon as possible, even as it appreciated Tehran’s commitment not to develop nuclear weapons, a prime demand of Trump to end the war.