The Trump administration is telling foreign officials and others that it will not set a new date for a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping until the conflict with Iran is resolved, Politico reports, citing sources.
A Washington diplomat familiar with the planning of the US-China summit confirmed to the publication that the administration has made it clear: "The next dates for the Trump-Xi summit will only be proposed after the active part of the Iran conflict is over." A person close to the administration confirmed that the administration shares this schedule.
Meanwhile, the White House denied that the timing of the summit is related to the war in Iran.
"This is fake news. The United States and China are having productive discussions about rescheduling President Trump’s visit – announcements are forthcoming," said White House spokesperson Anna Kelly.
Meanwhile, the Chinese embassy said it had "no information" about a possible postponement of the summit.
The meeting between Trump and Xi was originally scheduled for late March, but on Monday Trump said the meeting would be postponed "a month or so" because "we’ve got a war going on." On Thursday, he said it would take place "in about a month and a half."
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt, speaking to reporters, hinted that the meeting might not take place until May: "The president has some things here at home in May that he has to attend to, and I’m sure President Xi is a very busy man, as well, so we’ll get the dates on the books as soon as we can."
The newspaper notes that tying the preparations for the summit to the end of the conflict with Iran could lead to additional delays in the meeting, which is designed to maintain stability in the fragile US-China trade truce.
"There are operational constraints to managing a war from a foreign country — particularly a hostile one like China. It would be terribly awkward for Trump and Xi to transact in this climate," said a person close to the administration.
As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that the aggressor country russia and China provide Iran with political, economic and military assistance.
Meanwhile, Trump is demanding from the Gulf states USD 5 trillion to continue the war with Iran. And if the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council want to end it, it will cost them USD 2.5 trillion.
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