Chinese President Xi Jinping is heading to Washington soon, and president Donald Trump confirmed the visit while at a John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts board meeting on Monday. No date was given, but according to a report from Bloomberg on Tuesday, the call could happen in June, during what some officials are calling a potential “birthday summit” since both leaders have birthdays that month. If it happens, it’ll be the first time Trump and Xi see each other face-to-face since around 2018, and the meeting also comes as Trump escalates his trade war with China, raising tariffs on imports to 20%. The White House said in its factsheet that this is a direct response to Beijing’s failure to crack down on the flow of illegal fentanyl and the chemicals used to make it. China has rejected that claim vehemently, calling it a cover for economic pressure, so now, both sides are stuck in a diplomatic standoff with no clear resolution in sight. Trump increases tariffs as China calls for talks China’s Foreign Ministry has accused Trump of using the fentanyl issue as an excuse to justify trade penalties. Officials from Beijing’s Public Security Ministry insist that China has cracked down on the drug trade. A Foreign Ministry official even said Washington should be thanking China instead of slapping tariffs on its exports. The official urged the Trump administration to restart negotiations. Trump isn’t backing down. His administration insists China hasn’t done enough to stop fentanyl trafficking. Beijing, on the other hand, claims that the White House has failed to provide a clear roadmap for what it expects China to do. A person familiar with the discussions said Washington has sent messages through diplomatic channels, but China remains frustrated by the lack of clarity. This trade war isn’t just about fentanyl. Last week, Trump hit steel and aluminum imports with a 25% tariff. Next month, he plans to roll out sweeping reciprocal tariffs, targeting countries that impose unfair trade barriers on U.S. goods. China has responded with retaliatory tariffs, though not as aggressively as before. After Trump doubled the tariff on Chinese imports to 20%, Beijing imposed 15% tariffs on U.S. agricultural goods and banned trade with some defense companies. Trump and Xi navigate trade, TikTok, and a complicated history Trump says he’s open to a new trade deal with China, but Beijing remains skeptical. In 2020, the two leaders signed a deal where China agreed to crack down on intellectual property theft and increase purchases of U.S. products by $200 billion. That deal collapsed after the Covid-19 pandemic, which Trump blames on China. Since then, their relationship has been unstable. The two last spoke in January, just days before Trump’s inauguration. That call covered several high-stakes issues, including trade, TikTok’s U.S. operations, and the fentanyl dispute. Trump later said they spoke again in February, but didn’t say when. The Chinese Foreign Ministry has only acknowledged the January call. With the Washington meeting approaching, Trump and Xi will have to address these lingering tensions. Officials are still debating whether their meeting will happen as part of a “birthday summit” in June, but nothing has been officially confirmed. Trump to speak with Putin about Ukraine ceasefire While dealing with China, Trump is also preparing for a crucial call with Vladimir Putin about Ukraine peace talks, which is interesting because Xi and Putin call each other “best friends,” and Trump has shown that he wants to make a trio friend group. Trump announced on Truth Social that he will have a phone call with Putin on Tuesday morning to discuss Ukraine peace negotiations. He claimed “many elements” of a deal had already been agreed upon but admitted that “much remains” to be worked out. “Each week brings 2,500 soldier deaths, from both sides, and it must end NOW,” Trump wrote. He added that he “looks forward” to the call with Putin and believes a ceasefire can be reached. The status of these negotiations remains uncertain. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who recently met with Ukrainian officials in Jeddah, said most of their discussion was about what a negotiation process might look like, not about any specific ceasefire conditions. Meanwhile, Steve Witkoff, a U.S. envoy who met with Putin in Moscow, has taken a cautious approach, suggesting there’s still work to be done. World leaders have started weighing in. French President Emmanuel Macron praised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for agreeing to a ceasefire proposal and challenged Putin to do the same. “Enough deaths. Enough lives destroyed. Enough destruction. The guns must fall silent,” Macron said in a post on X. UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said Putin should agree to a “full and unconditional ceasefire”, arguing that he sees “no sign” Russia is serious about peace. He also warned that the UK and its allies have “more cards to play” to pressure Russia into negotiating. The White House is taking an optimistic stance. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Trump remains “determined” to secure a peace deal. She also revealed that the upcoming Trump-Putin call will touch on a critical issue involving a nuclear power plant near the Russia-Ukraine border. The plant in question is likely the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power facility, the largest in Europe. It has been occupied by Russian forces since 2022, and fighting in the region has raised fears of a nuclear disaster. Cryptopolitan Academy: Coming Soon - A New Way to Earn Passive Income with DeFi in 2025. Learn More
