China’s Xi issues warning to Trump as he prepares to meet with Putin at G20
Chinese President Xi Jinping has warned US President Donald Trump to respect its choices, ahead of the two world leaders meeting at the G20 summit in Argentina later this month.
China and the US have been embroiled in a trade war for several months, placing tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars worth of goods on both sides. Trump has also threatened to add a tariff on the remainder of China's exports to the US, worth more than $500bn, if the dispute is not resolved soon.
Xi told former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger that he and Trump would have "a deep exchange of views" in Argentina, according to the Chinese state news agency.
He added that the two should judge each other only on their strategic intentions, and not their choice of political ideology, development path or interests.
Trump said in a tweet last week that he had a "long and very good" phone call with Xi, with discussions set to recommence when the two meet in Argentina.
Just had a long and very good conversation with President Xi Jinping of China. We talked about many subjects, with a heavy emphasis on Trade. Those discussions are moving along nicely with meetings being scheduled at the G-20 in Argentina. Also had good discussion on North Korea!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 1, 2018
It was also revealed today that Trump will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G20 summit, as well as holding a brief working lunch for the two in Paris next week.
Trump's relationship with Putin was under a great deal of focus in this week's US mid-term elections, as both Democrats and Republicans alike criticised his closeness with the Russian leader.
The Democratic party won the majority of seats in the US House of Representatives early on Wednesday morning, while the Republican party increased its hold on the Senate.
Trump requested the resignation of attorney general Jeff Sessions late last night, in what is thought to be the beginning of a reshuffling of his inner circle ahead of launching his 2020 re-election campaign.