Trump seeks to postpone visit as China says communication with US continues
Beijing — The Chinese government stated that it is maintaining communication with the United States despite US President Donald Trump indicating an intention to postpone his visit to Beijing to meet President Xi Jinping.
“China and the United States continue to maintain communication regarding President Trump’s visit to China,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian at a press conference in Beijing on Tuesday.
US President Donald Trump stated on Monday that he wanted to postpone his visit to Beijing to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping for “approximately one month” due to an ongoing war with Iran. Trump had previously been scheduled to visit China’s capital from 31 March to 2 April 2026.
When asked whether Trump’s reason for postponing the China visit was due to China’s failure to help address tensions in the Hormuz Strait, Lin Jian said this was incorrect.
“We have noted that the US side has openly provided clarification regarding erroneous media reports, stating that this is entirely ‘false’. The US side has affirmed that the visit is not related to the issue concerning the Hormuz Strait,” Lin Jian added.
However, Lin Jian did not specify when Trump’s rescheduled visit to China would take place. “China and the United States continue to maintain communication regarding President Trump’s visit to China, including regarding the date of implementation. At present, I do not have anything further to convey,” Lin Jian stated.
Earlier, Trump said he wanted to remain in the United States whilst “Operation Epic Fury” — a US-Israel war against Iran that has been ongoing since 28 February 2026 — continues.
“We are working on it now, I really want to go to China, but because of this war, I want to be here. I have to be here,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Room.
“I look forward to meeting with him. We have a very good relationship,” Trump said whilst indicating that the US had asked China to postpone his meeting with President Xi Jinping.
At a high-level meeting of US-China economic officials in Paris on 15-16 March 2026, led by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, Bessent indicated that their discussions focused primarily on trade issues, including an explanation of the Trump administration’s new tariff policies.
After the Supreme Court ruled in February that Trump could not use 1970s-era emergency legislation to impose large tariffs without Congressional approval, his administration is now attempting to replace it with new tariffs through a different legal framework.
Last week, the US government initiated an investigation under Section 301 of the Trade Act 1974 against China and several other countries regarding alleged practices of industrial overcapacity and forced labour.
Since last year, Bessent and He have led several rounds of trade negotiations in various cities including Geneva, Stockholm, and Kuala Lumpur. These discussions have been preparing for Trump’s meeting with Xi in late October in South Korea, where both presidents agreed there would be no trade war between the two nations for one year.
President Trump is known to be continuing to pressure nations dependent on Middle Eastern oil to send warships to secure that important shipping lane. He has also claimed that many nations have expressed readiness to help, but has not specified which countries support and which do not.
Trump has also complained that some US allies are reluctant to become involved, despite the US having assisted them for “years.”