Trump’s tweet tells a different story.
After a day of meetings with top Chinese officials, Defense Secretary James Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the U. S. and China have made progress on a handful of issues and are pushing ahead on pressuring North Korea — despite President Donald Trump ’s claim that “it has not worked.”
“China continues to work these issues, ” Mattis told reporters.
“They have a diplomatic responsibility to assert much greater economic and diplomatic pressure on the regime if they want to prevent further escalation in the region, ” said Tillerson, at Mattis’s side.
So what did Trump mean by his tweet on Tuesday then?
While I greatly appreciate the efforts of President Xi & China to help with North Korea, it has not worked out. At least I know China tried!
“He represents the American people’s view of North Korea right now, ” said Mattis, referencing anger over the death of Otto Warmbier, held captive by the regime for over a year.
“We see a young man go over there healthy, and with a minor act of mischief, come home dead, basically. … What you’ re seeing, I think, is the American people’s frustration with a regime that provokes and provokes and provokes and basically plays outside the rules, plays fast and loose with the truth, ” he said.
It was another strongly worded warning to North Korea, but given the administration’s different statements, it’s unclear what it will do next.
For his part, Tillerson doubled down on the current strategy, saying both the U. S. and China agreed to stop doing business with U. N.-sanctioned North Koreans. But with their Chinese counterparts absent from the press conference, there was no word from China on whether or not they will finally fully do that.
