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Former President Donald Trump has confirmed that he plans to visit Beijing in the month of April and asked Chinese President Xi Jinping for a state visit later next year, subsequent to a phone call between the two heads of state.

Trump and Xi—who convened recently in South Korea—talked about a range of issues including trade, the Ukraine conflict, fentanyl, and the island of Taiwan, per the president and Beijing's diplomatic corps.

"Bilateral relations is highly solid!" Trump stated in a online message.

Beijing's press outlet issued a comment that indicated both nations should "keep up the momentum, progress in the right direction on the foundation of parity, respect and shared interests".

Earlier Talks and Commerce Progress

The officials met in the South Korean city of Busan in October, after which they agreed to a truce on tariffs. The US chose to reduce a 20% tariff in half aimed at the supply of opioids.

Trade taxes remain on products from China and are around close to half.

"Afterwards, the Sino-American ties has mostly kept a steady and positive trajectory, and this is greeted positively by the two countries and the wider global audience," the Beijing's announcement added.

• The United States then pulled back a potential imposition of full extra duties on Chinese goods, while China delayed its scheme to introduce its latest round of restrictions on rare earths.

Focus on Trade

The administration's spokesperson Karoline Leavitt stated that the phone discussion with Xi—which went on for an hour—was mainly about economic issues.

"The U.S. is happy with what we've seen from the Beijing, and they share that sentiment," she said.

Broader Topics

Besides discussing commerce, Xi and Trump raised the issues of the Ukraine war and Taiwan.

Xi stated to Trump that the island's "return to China" is critical for the Chinese outlook for the "global system after conflicts".

China has been involved in a diplomatic battle with Japan, a US ally, over the longstanding "strategic ambiguity" on the control of Taiwan.

Recently, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi stated that a potential military action by China on Taiwan could force a response from Japan's forces.

Trump, though, did not refer to Taiwan in his Truth Social post about the conversation.

The U.S. representative in Japan, George Glass, had earlier stated that the United States supports the Japanese in the wake of China's "coercion".