President Trump will welcome his Chinese counterpart for a weekend at Mar-a-Lago next month, the White House and Chinese Foreign Ministry confirmed on Thursday.
“President Donald J. Trump will host President Xi Jinping of China at Mar-a-Lago April 6–7, 2017,” said the White House in a press release. “This will be the first meeting between President Trump and President Xi. The two leaders will discuss global, regional, and bilateral issues of mutual concern.”
The president and First Lady Melania Trump will also host Xi and Madame Peng Liyuan at a dinner on the the first night of the visit.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang didn’t provide additional details.
On the campaign trail, Trump was a sharp critic of China, accusing the Communist nation of unfair trade practices.
Trump also levied accusations at the Chinese after he was elected president.
“Did China ask us if it was OK to devalue their currency (making it hard for our companies to compete), heavily tax our products going into their country (the U.S. doesn’t tax them) or to build a massive military complex in the middle of the South China Sea? I don’t think so!” Trump said on Twitter on Dec. 4, 2016.
On the campaign trail, Trump also upset China when he took a congratulatory phone call from the leader of Taiwan during the presidential transition period, the first time an American president or president-elect publicly acknowledged chatting with that country’s leader in nearly four decades.
Trump welcomed Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to Mar-a-Lago in February.