U.S. President Donald J. Trump showered Chinese leader Xi Jinping with praise on Thursday, and urged his counterpart to work fast to address the North Korean nuclear crisis.
“We must act fast. And hopefully China will act faster and more effectively on this problem than anyone,” Mr. Trump said during talks in Beijing. “China can fix this problem easily and quickly, and I am calling on China and your great president to hopefully work on it very hard.”
“I know one thing about your president: If he works on it hard, it will happen. There’s no doubt about it,” the U.S. president added, while thanking Mr. Xi for his efforts to restrict trade with Pyongyang.
My meetings with President Xi Jinping were very productive on both trade and the subject of North Korea. He is a highly respected and powerful representative of his people. It was great being with him and Madame Peng Liyuan!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 9, 2017
At the same time, Mr. Trump raised the issue of China’s “one-sided and unfair” trade surplus with the United States. However, the U.S. president told Mr. Xi he did not blame China for it as the two countries signed more than $250 billion in business deals.
I don’t blame China, I blame the incompetence of past Admins for allowing China to take advantage of the U.S. on trade leading up to a point where the U.S. is losing $100's of billions. How can you blame China for taking advantage of people that had no clue? I would've done same!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 9, 2017
The Chinese leader said the two countries reiterated their “firm commitment” to the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula and the implementation of UN resolutions.
He also repeated his plea for the issue to be resolved through negotiations, saying China was ready to discuss the “pathway leading to enduring peace and stability on the peninsula”.
At present, Mr. Trump is on his five-nation tour of Asia. During meetings in Beijing, he called the Chinese leader a “very special man” and underscored that he expected China to do more to rein in North Korea.
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/928622838487007260
