Xi, Trump to meet at 'Winter White House' Mar-a-Lago

As we mentioned, President Xi will travel to the US for his first face-to-face meeting with President Donald Trump. The two-day trip will be held in Florida at the Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate.

 

Dubbed the Winter White House, the Mar-a-Lago estate is owned by U.S. President Trump. He and First Lady Melania Trump will host Xi Jinping and Madame Peng Liyuan here on April 6th and 7th.

 

The visit echoes the June 2013 meeting between President Xi and then U.S. President Barack Obama and follows the recent visit by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his wife.

 

The visit comes in the first 100 days of the new Trump administration, which still has to flesh out its policy on trade and other key issues.

 

Welcoming the meeting, China says both countries should work to make the global economy grow.

 

"Related departments in China and the US have actively advanced preparations for the meeting. President Xi and his wife will attend a welcome ceremony to be hosted by US president Donald Trump and the US first lady. The two leaders will exchange views on China-US relations and international issues of common concern to expand bilateral cooperation and promote bilateral exchanges," Chinese vice foreign minister Zheng Zeguang said.

 

The first face-to-face meeting between the two leaders follows the visit of the new U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to Beijing, Seoul and Tokyo. The U.S. says it will get tougher on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's - with wider and deeper sanctions. And even military strikes not being ruled out by Washington. The White House there are other differences to discuss, too.

 

"I think this is an opportunity for President Trump to develop a relationship in person with President Xi. He's spoken to him on the phone a few times. But we have big problems. I mean everything from the South China Sea, to trade, to North Korea. There are big issues on national and economic security that need to get addressed and I think there's going to be a lot on the table when it comes to that over the 2 days that they will talk," White House Press secretary Sean Spicer said.

 

China also disagrees with the U.S. over the deployment of THAAD anti-ballistic missiles in South Korea, the Trump administration's approach to climate change and potential arms sales to Taiwan.

 

But these visits are about more than that. They are about establishing relationships for the future.