China on Monday indicated that President Xi Jinping's planned visit to the United States in September remains on track, saying Beijing and Washington are maintaining communication on high-level exchanges despite recent tensions triggered by US President Donald Trump's allegations of Chinese interference in American elections.
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Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said the two sides had "maintained communication regarding the arrangements for the heads of state's interactions later this year", while describing leader-level diplomacy as providing "irreplaceable strategic guidance" for China-US ties.
Lin's remarks came after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he expected Xi's visit to proceed as planned. "We anticipate that the trip is happening in September," Rubio said before departing for the Philippines for ASEAN meetings, adding that Chinese teams were continuing preparations, according to the South China Morning Post .
The comments suggest both sides are seeking to keep diplomatic engagement on course despite renewed friction after Trump accused Beijing of obtaining millions of US voter records and interfering in American elections. China has rejected the allegations, calling them fabricated and reiterating that it does not interfere in other countries' internal affairs.
Lin declined to confirm whether Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi would meet Rubio on the sidelines of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Manila this week. He confirmed that Wang would attend the ASEAN meeting on July 22 before travelling to Kyrgyzstan for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation foreign ministers' meeting from July 23 to 25.
According to earlier media reports, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu is expected to visit Washington and Miami to help prepare for Xi's proposed trip.
Trump had invited Xi for a reciprocal visit during his trip to Beijing earlier this year, and the invitation was accepted. However, some Chinese analysts told the South China Morning Post that Trump's recent accusations and increasingly hardline rhetoric could complicate preparations for the visit.
Zhao Minghao, a professor at Fudan University's Institute of International Studies, told the newspaper that Trump's tougher public stance appeared aimed at demonstrating resolve on China ahead of this year's US midterm elections and could affect the broader trajectory of bilateral relations.
