Chinese foreign minister calls for US and China to 'overcome obstacles'
ahead of presidential summit
[August 27, 2026]
By HUIZHONG WU
BANGKOK (AP) — China's foreign minister said his country and the United
States should overcome obstacles between the nations ahead of an
expected summit next month between U.S. President Donald Trump and
Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Wang Yi met with U.S. ambassador to China David Perdue on Wednesday and
called on both sides to “focus on the positive agenda, properly manage
differences, remove interference and overcome obstacles to high-level
exchanges between the two countries,” Chinese state broadcaster CCTV
reported Thursday.
China-U.S. relations “still face various risks and challenges,” he
acknowledged in a statement released by CCTV.
Trump and Xi met in May in Beijing and pledged to keep the relationship
stable and maintain the fragile trade truce. Trump invited Xi to meet
Sept. 24 in the U.S., but the exact date of the Chinese leader's visit
has not been confirmed.
Since then, however, the U.S. and China have continued to take targeted
economic action against each other, including the U.S. banning imports
of new Chinese-made humanoid robots and China banning American entities
engaging in trade and other activities in China.
Also on Thursday, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Lin
Jian said at a regular press conference that China and the U.S. were
maintaining communication about the two leaders' upcoming meeting
“within the year.”
China-U.S. tensions had been elevated since Trump's return to the White
House last year, with the U.S. at one point saying tariffs on China
would be up to 145%, although the tariff levels came down substantially
later. Tensions have eased in recent months and several agreements were
made during the leaders' May meeting, including the setting up of boards
of trade and investment between the two countries.
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China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi attends the Comprehensive Strategic
Dialogue between Indonesia and China in Jakarta, Indonesia, Friday,
Aug. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana, File)
However, the Trump administration has recently been deliberating new
tariffs of 7.5% on China as a result of an ongoing U.S. probe
against 16 economies on excess industrial capacity and production.
An official decision has not yet been finalized or made public. The
U.S. also said last month that it was imposing a 12.5% tariff on
China as a result of a U.S. probe on forced labor against 60
economies.
In response to the potential 7.5% new tariffs by the U.S., China's
Ministry of Commerce on Thursday told reporters that China “firmly
opposes” the U.S. probe on excess capacity, adding that the U.S. was
“politicizing economic and trade issues.”
Beijing will continue to closely monitor developments and “reserves
the right to take all necessary measures” if needed, the Commerce
Ministry added.
Last month, China also hit back against Western criticism of
overcapacity in a report titled “China’s Position on the So-called
Excess Capacity Issue,” saying China never sought a large trade
surplus.
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AP writer Chan Ho-him in Hong Kong contributed to this report.
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