Xi Jinping reportedly cut short visit to US National Archives — Taipei Times
Chinese President Xi Jinping reportedly ended his visit to the US National Archives in Washington early after the Chinese delegation objected to a planned viewing of the San Francisco Peace Treaty. Taipei Times reported this, citing sources in Washington media circles.
Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan concluded their three-day state visit to the United States on Friday. Before traveling to the archives, they had tea at the White House with US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump.
Planned documents
According to the sources, the US side planned to show the Chinese leader the US Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. The program also included viewing the Treaty of Wanghia and the Treaty of Tientsin, which are considered unequal treaties, followed by the San Francisco Peace Treaty.
Neither the People’s Republic of China nor the Republic of China was a party to the San Francisco Peace Treaty. According to the sources, the planned display of this document prompted strong objections from the Chinese delegation.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
The visit lasted about ten minutes
After a brief viewing of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution with Trump, Xi Jinping’s delegation canceled the remainder of the program at the last minute, the sources said. As a result, Trump and Xi Jinping spent about ten minutes at the National Archives — significantly less than the original schedule had envisaged.
The 1951 San Francisco Peace Treaty was signed between Japan and 48 Allied states after World War II. Its Article 2 provides for Japan’s renunciation of all right, title and claim to Formosa and the Pescadores, without explicitly determining which state holds sovereignty over Taiwan. China does not recognize the argument, based on this provision, that Taiwan’s status is undetermined.
The Chinese side wanted to see, among other documents, the three US-China joint communiqués, but the US side did not consider adding these documents to the program, the sources said.
