Trump officials considering Mar-a-Lago for next meeting with China’s Xi: report

White House officials have informally discussed the prospect of having a summit between President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, according to Axios. 

The news outlet, citing two administration officials with direct knowledge of the conversations, reported that the officials talked about having the summit there in March with the goal of ending a months-long trade war. 

The officials told Axios that Mar-a-Lago was the “likely” location for the next meeting between Trump and Xi. But the two cautioned that nothing was was set in stone. 

The meeting could take place as soon as mid-March, the officials added to Axios. 

A third official told Axios that Beijing has also been discussed as an option for a meeting.{mosads}

The report comes as a self-imposed March 1 deadline for the two countries to reach a trade agreement nears. Trump said last Thursday the he had no plans to meet with Xi before the deadline, adding that it was “probably too soon” for a meeting to happen in the next month. 

His comments came after White House officials stated that the countries remained far apart on key trade disputes, a remark that prompted fears about trade tensions flaring up once again. 

Two administration officials told Axios that Trump would speak with Xi before March 1, noting that a long-term deal wouldn’t be reached until the two met. 

The U.S. and China reached a temporary trade truce in December, with the Trump administration agreeing to hold off on raising tariffs on billions of dollars in Chinese imports from 10 percent to 25 percent while both sides negotiated a broader agreement.

It remains unclear if the U.S. would extend a deadline with China if a deal isn’t reached by March 1. 

The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment.