President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping said Thursday they will work together to denuclearize North Korea.
“As long as we stand together, that threat will never happen — doesn’t even have a chance,” Trump said from Beijing. “The entire civilized world must unite to confront the North Korea menace and the entire world is watching us right now.”
Trump received a warm welcome to Beijing Wednesday in what some are calling the most spectacular display of diplomacy in China’s history, according to Business Insider. Trump and Xi met Thursday with U.S. and Chinese officials to discuss shared issues and concerns including trade and North Korea’s nuclear threat.
Trump’s three-day visit to China is part of his 13-day trip to Asia.
What’s the plan?
The leaders affirmed their mutual commitment to reporters Thursday in a joint statement following a two-hour meeting with U.S. and Chinese officials, Fox News reported.
“President Trump and President Xi affirmed their commitment to achieve a complete, verifiable, and permanent denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said during the press briefing. “President Trump and President Xi will not accept a nuclear-armed North Korea.”
China agreed to take more steps to implement United Nations sanctions against North Korea, including freezing bank accounts and limiting oil deliveries to the rogue nation, Tillerson said.
“The two sides will continue to fully and strictly implement UN Security Council resolutions,” Xi said. “At the same time, the two sides commit to working toward a solution through dialogue and negotiation. We are ready to discuss with relevant parties the pathway leading to enduring peace and stability in the Peninsular and Northeast Asia.”
Trump praised Chinese efforts in restricting trade with Pyongyang. Additionally, he called on all countries to stop business with North Korea.
“China can fix this problem easily and quickly,” Trump said. “I know one thing about your president: If he works on it hard, it will happen. No doubt about it.”
What about the U.S. trade deficit with China?
Trump said he didn’t blame China for the U.S. China trade imbalance and that who can blame someone for taking advantage of another country for the benefit of its citizens.
“Well, as I was sitting there listening to that, there was a little bit of tongue-in-cheek in that characterization,” Tillerson said when asked about Trump’s comment. “But there was also a lot of truth to it.”
During trade talks with China ” … He [Trump] made the point that if you look at the 15 highest trade imbalances by year that we’ve had in the history of the country, all 15 of them were with China,” Tillerson added.
The Chinese agree more needs to be done to rebalance the U.S.-China trade imbalance, Tillerson said, but there’s still a lot of work to be done.
The U.S. trade deficit is estimated to be between $300 billion to $500 billion.
Source: The Blaze
