President Donald Trump said he had agreed to visit Beijing in April and invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to make a state visit later next year following a phone call between the two leaders.
Trump and Xi, who met nearly a month ago in South Korea, discussed a range of issues including trade, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, fentanyl and Taiwan, according to China's president and foreign ministry.
“Our relationship with China is extremely strong!” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.
China's new state agency released a statement saying both countries should “maintain momentum and continue to move forward in the right direction on the basis of equality, respect and mutual benefit.”
The leaders met in Busan, South Korea, in October and agreed to a truce over tariffs. The US decided to halve the 20% tariff to reduce the flow of fentanyl.
Tariffs on Chinese goods remain at just under 50%.
“Since then, China-US relations have generally maintained a stable and positive trajectory, which is welcomed by both countries and the wider international community,” China said in a statement.
The US then withdrew its threat to impose 100% additional tariffs on Chinese goods, while China shelved its plan to impose its latest round of controls on rare earth exports.
White House spokeswoman Caroline Leavitt said Monday's phone call with Xi Jinping, which lasted about an hour, focused on trade.
“We are happy with what we have seen from the Chinese, and they feel the same,” she said.
In addition to discussing trade, Xi and Trump touched on Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Taiwan.
Xi told Trump that “returning Taiwan to China” was essential to China's vision of a “post-war international order.”
China was spoiled in diplomatic battle with Japan, a US ally, over long-standing “strategic ambiguity” over the sovereignty of self-ruled Taiwan.
Earlier this month, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said any Chinese attack on Taiwan could trigger a military response from Japan.
Trump, however, did not mention Taiwan in his Truth Social post about the call.
US Ambassador to Japan George Glass earlier said the US was supporting Tokyo after China's “coercion”.
