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.
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.
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.