Hamburg - US President Donald Trump took
a conciliatory tone on Saturday at a meeting with Chinese
President Xi Jinping where the leaders agreed to keep working on
two pressing issues: the nuclear threat posed by North Korea and
bilateral trade irritants.
Trump campaigned in last year's presidential election on
cracking down on China for its trade practices, but he softened
his rhetoric after taking office, saying he wanted to work with
China on the nuclear issue.
When the two leaders first met in April at Trump's Florida
resort, they appeared to hit it off. Trump called Xi a "good
man" as he urged him to use Beijing's economic clout to force
North Korea to curb its nuclear weapons program.
Lately, Trump has expressed some impatience on China's role
in North Korea - particularly after Pyongyang launched an
intercontinental ballistic missile that some experts believe
could have the range to reach Alaska, and parts of the US West
Coast.
His administration made new arms sales to Taiwan, imposed
sanctions on two Chinese citizens and a shipping company and put
China on a global human trafficking list. It also accused a
Chinese bank of laundering money for Pyongyang.
The White House is also debating trade actions against
Beijing, including tariffs on its steel exports and a few days
before the G20 talks, Trump complained that trade between China
and North Korea had grown.
But he showed none of that impatience on Saturday, when the
leaders met at the invitation of Xi at the tail end of the G20
in Germany.
"It's an honor to have you as a friend," Trump told Xi,
telling him he appreciated actions he had already taken on North
Korea.
"As far as North Korea is concerned, we will have,
eventually, success. It may take longer than I'd like. It may
take longer than you'd like. But there will be success in the
end one way or the other," Trump said.
Speaking to reporters later on Air Force One, U.S. Treasury
Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the Trump-Xi meeting lasted over
an hour-and-a-half, and they had "substantive discussions" about
how to deal with North Korea together.
"In regards to China, we had very direct discussions about
North Korea. We had very direct discussions about military and
security cooperation," Mnuchin said.
"I think that President Trump made very clear to President
Xi that he is focused on this issue, and wants to move forward
and make progress. And I think President Xi gave a very
interesting perspective from their standpoint," he added.
For his part, Xi told Trump that stronger China-US ties
were conducive to stability and prosperity amid global
conflicts, and had made "new progress" in some areas "despite
some sensitive issues", Xi said, according to state news agency
Xinhua.
Xi stressed the importance of talks with North Korea, and
said China's navy will join next year's U.S.-led Pacific Rim
military exercises.
Xinhua said Xi stressed to Trump China's position that it
adheres to the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and
maintaining peace and stability there.
While China has been angered by North Korea's repeated
nuclear and missile tests, it also blames the United States and
South Korea for worsening tension with their military exercises.
"China has many times talked about its principled position,
namely that at the same time as the international community
making necessary responses to North Korean acts that go against
U.N. Security Council resolutions, they must step up efforts to
promote talks and manage and control the situation," Xinhua
said, citing Xi.
Xi also reiterated China's opposition to the U.S. deployment
of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile
system in South Korea, Xinhua said. China says THAAD threatens
its security, despite U.S. and South Korean assurances it is
aimed only at defending against North Korea.
Both leaders agreed to maintain close communication and
coordination on the Korean peninsula nuclear issue, Xinhua said.
In a statement released on Sunday, Chinese Foreign Minister
Wang Yi said Xi and Trump had "enhanced mutual understanding"
about the North Korea issue and "confirmed the broad direction
of using peaceful means to resolve this issue".
Trump also mentioned trade imbalances in his meeting with
Xi, calling it a "very, very big issue" that he would address.
"I know that China in particular, which is a great trading
partner, we will be able to do something that will be equitable
and reciprocal," Trump said.
Senior officials from both countries will meet in Washington
on July 19 to discuss economic and trade issues.