HAMBURG • US President Donald Trump took a conciliatory tone in a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping as the leaders agreed to keep working on two pressing issues: the nuclear threat posed by North Korea and bilateral trade irritants..
HAMBURG • US President Donald Trump took a conciliatory tone in a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping as the leaders agreed to keep working on two pressing issues: the nuclear threat posed by North Korea and bilateral trade irritants.
Mr Trump lately expressed impatience over China’s role in North Korea, particularly after Pyongyang launched an intercontinental ballistic missile last week that some experts believe could reach Alaska and parts of the US West Coast.
His administration made new arms sales to Taiwan, imposed sanctions on two Chinese citizens and a shipping company, put China on a global human trafficking list, and accused a Chinese bank of laundering money for Pyongyang.
The White House is also debating trade actions against Beijing, including tariffs on its steel exports.
A few days before the Group of 20 (G-20) talks, Mr Trump complained that trade between China and North Korea had grown. But he showed none of that impatience last Saturday, when the leaders met at the invitation of Mr Xi at the tail end of the G-20 summit in Germany.
« It’s an honour to have you as a friend, » Mr Trump told Mr Xi, saying he appreciated actions the Chinese leader has taken on North Korea.
He added: « As far as North Korea is concerned, we will have, eventually, success. It may take longer than I’d like. It may take longer than you’d like.
