What Happened With their trade war at a full boil , the U.S. and Chinese governments both said on June 18 that a face-to-face meeting would take place between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Osaka, Japan, at the end of the month. Trump had tweeted the news after a telephone conversation with Xi, followed soon after by an announcement by the Chinese government confirming Xi's participation — which carefully noted that the United States had been the one to request the phone call that solidified the meeting plan. Why It Matters The meeting will offer the United States and China a chance to step away from the tit-for-tat cycle of retaliation that has been building since trade negotiations broke down in May.