Trump's China visit rescheduled for May due to Iran war

With a U.S.-China summit set for May, Beijing launches new trade probes and U.S. lawmakers head to Taiwan ahead of the meeting

Welcome back to What’s Happening in China, your weekly China brief.

Early this week, the White House announced new dates for the Trump-Xi summit in Beijing. Originally scheduled for March 31-April 2, the trip is now set for May 14-15, one day shorter than the original plan.

The U.S. President last week announced he had asked to postpone the visit so he could stay in Washington because of the war with Iran. “President Xi understood that it’s very important for the president to be here throughout these combat operations right now,” Karoline Leavitt, the White House spokesperson, said.

Ahead of the summit, on Friday Beijing announced new trade probes into U.S. practices, likely a reaction to Washington’s efforts to revive its tariff agenda after the Supreme Court last month ruled Trump’s signature economic policy illegal.

Meanwhile, in what will probably draw a strong reaction from China, four U.S. senators are headed to Taiwan where, according to the Financial Times, they “will urge lawmak…