US President Donald Trump arrived in Beijing on Wednesday for a high-stakes summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping aimed at easing deep tensions between the rival superpowers.
Air Force One touched down at Beijing Capital International Airport after the long flight from Washington, beginning the first visit to China by a US president in nearly a decade.
Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged Trump to discuss ending Russia’s invasion of Ukraine during meetings with Chinese leader Xi.
“We are in constant contact with our American partners. We are thankful and we are expecting that the issue of ending of the Russian war against Ukraine will be raised now as well, while the President of the United States is in China,” Zelensky said in speech delivered during a summit in Romania.
Before departing for Beijing, Trump said that he does not need China’s help to end the conflict with Iran, adding that he will have extensive talks with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, during their summit this week. “We will have extensive discussions on this subject,” he told reporters.
Trump emphasized that he does not need Xi’s help to find a way out of the conflict that erupted two and a half months ago following a US-Israeli attack, before later escalating into a struggle for control of the Strait of Hormuz.
China is a major economic partner of Iran, purchasing the majority of Tehran’s oil production, and is also one of its strongest diplomatic backers. (AFP)
