"Always had very good relationship with Xi , Putin": Trump at Davos
Jan 21, 2026
Davos [Switzerland], January 22 : U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday described Chinese President Xi Jinping as an "incredible man" who has achieved "amazing" things and is "highly respected by everybody," while reaffirming his longstanding positive rapport with both leaders Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Trump added that he initially called COVID-19 the "China virus" but decided to change it, saying there was no reason to make an issue over the name.
Speaking at the 56th Annual Summit of the World Economic Forum, Trump said, "I've always had a very good relationship with President Xi and with President Putin. President Xi of China is an incredible man. What he's done is amazing. He's highly respected by everybody. It was very severely interrupted by COVID. I used to call it the China virus, but he said, do you think you could use a different name and I decided to do that because why should we have a problem over that?"
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump confirmed his plans to visit China in April, TASS reported.
"I get along very well with President Xi. I'm going to go over to China in April," he said, quoted by TASS at a meeting with oil executives on the situation in Venezuela.
Following an October phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Trump said he plans to travel to China in April 2026. He added that President Xi would subsequently undertake a state visit to the United States.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in early November that Trump and Xi could hold four meetings in 2026. Apart from the two state visits, the leaders may hold talks on the sidelines of the Group of Twenty events in Doral, Florida, and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in China's Shenzhen.
In November 2025, President Trump had also said that he would host the Chinese leader on a state visit to the United States later in 2026, describing the US-China relationship as "extremely strong."
