Rubio says Chinese leader Xi still intends to visit the US after Trump's speech

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the upcoming visit of Chinese leader Xi Jinping to America remains scheduled, days after the U.S. leader's statements about Chinese election fraud threatened to derail the "truce," writes UNN citing Bloomberg.

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"We expect the visit to take place in September," he told reporters before departing for the ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting in Manila. "They continue to send their teams to prepare for it. I haven't heard anything different."

U.S. President Donald Trump last week accused the Chinese government of interfering in the 2020 U.S. elections by stealing 220 million voter files – claims that U.S. intelligence agencies have previously refuted.

Trump accused China of stealing US voter data17.07.26, 08:59 • 4707 views

When asked by reporters on Sunday evening whether there would be consequences for Beijing's alleged actions, he replied: "We'll see. We'll talk to them."

China denies Trump’s allegations of interference in US elections17.07.26, 10:00 • 4637 views

Trump made these allegations a few months before the planned visit of the Chinese leader to the U.S., which is part of broader efforts to stabilize ties and maintain the trade truce reached last year. This trip is the second of potentially four meetings between the two leaders this year following Trump's high-profile visit to Beijing in May.

"Head-of-state diplomacy plays an irreplaceable role in providing strategic guidance to bilateral relations," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian told reporters at a regular press conference in Beijing on Monday. "The two sides are in communication regarding the interaction between the two heads of state throughout the year."

Ahead of Xi Jinping's trip, new tensions are emerging between the world's largest economies over visas and artificial intelligence. Trump reinstated a 90-day visa restriction for Chinese journalists, which he pursued at the end of his first term but which former U.S. President Joe Biden revoked before it became law.

Last week, Xi Jinping chaired an event to create a new group of nearly 30 countries to establish global AI rules, which does not include the U.S. This came after Chinese AI startup Moonshot announced its new model Kimi K3, overturning conventional wisdom about U.S. leadership over China.

The ASEAN summit this week will give Rubio an opportunity to speak with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi ahead of the leaders' meeting, as well as with other regional counterparts from countries such as Japan and South Korea.

"When you have two large, powerful countries like the United States and China, there will always be irritants," Rubio said. "But I think it is precisely powerful, important countries like ours that need to continue conversations and maintain relations."