U. S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Saturday pushed for closer China-U. S. cooperation on dealing with North Korea\u2019s nuclear program in his first face-to-face talks with top Chinese diplomats.<\/b>
BEIJING (AP) – U. S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Saturday pushed for closer China -U. S. cooperation on dealing with North Korea \u2019s nuclear program in his first face-to-face talks with top Chinese diplomats.
Tillerson \u2019s visit to Beijing followed his remarks in South Korea on Friday in which he warned that pre-emptive military action against North Korea might be necessary if the threat from its weapons program reaches a level \u201cthat we believe requires action.\u201d
China , the North\u2019s biggest source of diplomatic support and economic assistance, hasn\u2019t responded directly to his remarks, although Beijing has called repeatedly for all sides to take steps to reduce tensions.
Tillerson stressed the need for a \u201cresults oriented\u201d relationship with China in comments following his meeting Saturday with Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
\u201cWe renewed our determination to work together to convince North Korea to choose a better path and a different future for its people,\u201d Tillerson said.
He said Wang agreed on the need for a \u201ccourse correction\u201d with Pyongyang. Bringing North Korea \u201cto a different place\u201d is a matter to be approached with \u201ca sense of urgency,\u201d Tillerson said.
Wang restated Beijing \u2019s calls for dialogue between the U. S. and North Korea and called Tillerson \u2019s visit an important step toward a meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his U. S. counterpart, Donald Trump, expected next month.
Tillerson met later with Yang Jiechi, Xi\u2019s top foreign policy adviser. He is scheduled to meet with Xi on Sunday morning before returning to the U. S.
As North Korea \u2019s most important source of diplomatic support and economic assistance, China has grown increasingly concerned about the possibility of conflict on the Korean Peninsula.
Wang warned last week that North Korea on one side, and the U. S. and South Korea on the other, were like \u201ctwo accelerating trains\u201d headed at each other, with neither side willing to give way.
He floated a proposal that North Korea could suspend its nuclear and missile activities in exchange for a halt in joint U. S.-South Korea military drills. That was swiftly shot down by the U. S. ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, who said Washington has to see \u201csome sort of positive action\u201d from North Korea before it can take leader Kim Jong Un seriously.
While China has agreed reluctantly to U. N. Security Council resolutions sanctioning North Korea , it is adamantly opposed to measures that might bring about a collapse of the North Korean regime and send waves of refugees into northeastern China while South Korean and American forces take up positions on its border.
That\u2019s left Beijing with few options other than to call for renewed dialogue under the Beijing -sponsored six-nation format that broke down in 2009.
In a further sign of its frustration with Pyongyang, China last month banned imports of North Korean coal for the rest of the year, potentially depriving Kim\u2019s regime of a key source of foreign currency.
On Friday, Tillerson signaled a tougher strategy toward North Korea that leaves open the possibility of pre-emptive military action.
\u201cLet me be very clear: The policy of strategic patience has ended,\u201d he said after visiting the heavily militarized border between the rival Koreas. \u201cWe are exploring a new range of diplomatic, security and economic measures. All options are on the table.\u201d
Past U. S. administrations have considered military force because of North Korea \u2019s development of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles to deliver them, but rarely has that option been expressed so explicitly as by Tillerson .
North Korea has accelerated its weapons development, violating multiple Security Council resolutions without being deterred by sanctions. The North conducted two nuclear test explosions and 24 ballistic missile tests last year. Experts say it could have a nuclear-tipped missile capable of reaching the U. S. within a few years.
China has stridently opposed the deployment of a U. S. missile defense system to South Korea, saying its X-band radar can peer deep into China to monitor flights and rocket launches. The U. S. says it\u2019s a system focused purely on North Korea and poses no threat to the security of other nations.
Tillerson \u2019s visit to Beijing is the final stop on his three-nation swing through Northeast Asia, which began in Japan. State Department officials have described it as a \u201clistening tour\u201d as the administration seeks to coordinate with its Asian partners on a coherent North Korea policy.
Though it didn\u2019t come up in his public remarks, Tillerson was expected to discuss with China its claim to virtually the entire South China Sea, including its building of islands atop coral reefs, complete with airstrips and military installations.
During his confirmation hearings in January, Tillerson compared China \u2019s island-building and deployment of military assets to Russia\u2019s 2014 annexation of Crimea, and suggested that China \u2019s access to its newly built islands should be blocked.
While Trump pledged during his campaign to slap 45 percent tariffs on imports from China and label the country a currency manipulator, there has been little indication of his doing either. His pick for U. S. trade representative, Robert Lighthizer, has said he would use a \u201cmultifaceted approach\u201d to cracking down on Chinese trade abuses.
Tillerson \u2019s trip also highlights the Trump administration\u2019s apparent lack of concern with human rights abuses in countries overseas, formerly a key element of U. S. policy toward China – and a major irritant in bilateral relations.
In a departure from past practice, Tillerson skipped the launch of an annual report on human rights last week that cited numerous abuses by China. He has also said the U. S. would not continue participating in the U. N. Human Rights Council unless it undergoes \u201cconsiderable reform.\u201d
Copyright \u00a9 2017 The Washington Times, LLC.
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