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Former President Donald Trump has declared that he plans to travel to Beijing in the month of April and invited Chinese President Xi Jinping for a official visit in the coming year, following a phone call between the two leaders.

Trump and Xi—who met about a month back in the Republic of Korea—talked about a variety of topics including trade, the situation in Ukraine, synthetic drugs, and the island of Taiwan, as stated by the U.S. leader and Beijing's diplomatic corps.

"Bilateral relations is extremely strong!" Trump wrote in a online message.

Official Chinese media issued a statement that noted both states should "maintain progress, progress in the right direction on the principle of parity, esteem and mutual benefit".

Prior Engagement and Trade Developments

The officials convened in Busan, South Korea in the fall, after which they reached a ceasefire on import duties. The United States chose to reduce a 20 percent duty by half targeting the movement of opioids.

Duties continue on Chinese goods and are around just below 50%.

"From that point, the China-US relationship has largely sustained a stable and upward path, and this is appreciated by the each side and the wider global audience," the Beijing's announcement said.

• The US then withdrew a potential imposition of full extra duties on products, while China postponed its plan to implement its recent phase of restrictions on rare earths.

Commerce Discussions

Official representative Karoline Leavitt said that the phone discussion with Xi—which lasted about an hour—was focused on economic issues.

"We are pleased with what we've observed from the China, and they share that sentiment," she said.

Wider Discussions

Along with discussing trade, Xi and Trump raised the subjects of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the Taiwan situation.

Xi informed Trump that the island's "return to China" is critical for the Chinese outlook for the "world order following wars".

China has been engaged in a diplomatic battle with Japan, a American partner, over the longstanding "strategic ambiguity" on the control of self-governed Taiwan.

Earlier this month, Japan's leader Sanae Takaichi said that any assault from Beijing on Taiwan could compel a response from Japan's forces.

Trump, but, did not refer to the island in his social media update about the call.

US Ambassador to Japan, George Glass, noted before that the US supports Tokyo in the context of Beijing's "pressure".