Trump Looks Forward to Productive Talks with Xi Jinping During Upcoming Washington Visit

WASHINGTON, September 2. /TASS/. US President Donald Trump said he looks forward to discussing many "good and productive" issues with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping during the latter’s upcoming visit to Washington.

"We have the president of China coming on the 24th [of September]. That'll be very exciting. [It will] be great. [We’d] love to have him. We have a lot of good things to discuss, very, very productive things to discuss with President Xi [Jinping]," the US leader told reporters at the White House.

Official Washington has publicly signaled on several occasions that it hopes for a return visit by the Chinese president this fall. Trump visited Beijing on May 14-15.

Meanwhile, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi emphasized earlier that Washington and Beijing must remove obstacles and overcome barriers to high-level contacts. The top diplomat noted that relations between the two countries continue to face various risks and challenges. According to Wang Yi, developing ties based on mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and mutually beneficial cooperation serves the interests of the peoples of both countries and meets the expectations of the international community.

There is speculation in the American press that Xi Jinping may postpone or even cancel his visit to the US in light of Washington’s intention to drastically tighten anti-Iranian restrictions and actively impose sanctions on third countries that continue to engage in economic cooperation with Tehran.