Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) meets with his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump on the sidelines of a Group of 20 (G20) summit, in Hamburg, Germany, July 8, 2017 [Xinhua]At a meeting with US President Donald Trump in Hamburg, Chinese President Xi Jinping reiterated China’s opposition to the US deployment of an anti-missile system in South Korea.
“The two countries have made new progress in bilateral cooperation in many fields since the Mar-a-Lago meeting despite some sensitive issues,” Xi said, according to state news agency Xinhua.
In recent weeks, Trump had expressed disapproval of China’s inability to China to rein in Kim Jong-un, on Twitter. “So much for China working with us – but we had to give it a try!” he said in a tweet on Wednesday.
Trade between China and North Korea grew almost 40% in the first quarter. So much for China working with us – but we had to give it a try!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 5, 2017
China had said earlier that the US statements are not helping to diffuse the crises in the Korean peninsula. A joint Sino-Russian statement earlier this week also alleged that Washington was using North Korea as an excuse to expand its military infrastructure in Asia.
“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,” Xi said on Saturday during his meeting with Trump.
China and the United States have announced the two sides will hold the first round of a comprehensive economic dialogue on July 19, and launch the first round of a law enforcement, cybersecurity, social and cultural dialogue at an early date.
Referring to the imbalance in trade, Trump told Xi it is 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.
TBP and Agencies