China’s Xi Jinping to skip UN meeting during trip to US

Chinese leader Xi Jinping will forgo a stop in New York to address the United Nations General Assembly during a trip to the United States in September to meet President Donald Trump, Politico reported.



Politico cited four people familiar with the matter whom it did not identify. Xi plans to visit the US for three days, meeting Trump on Sept 24, one of the people said.



Arrangements for China's participation in the UN General Assembly event will be announced in due course, a spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry in Beijing said in a statement.



There had been speculation that Xi would join other world leaders at the UN meeting as part of his US visit. Trump invited the Chinese President to visit during his trip to Beijing in May.



The two sides used their spring summit to steady ties that had deteriorated over trade, tech, Taiwan and other issues. Although no major deals were reached, Xi declared the visit a "historic" landmark in bilateral ties