State Councillor Yang Jiechi also told US president in Washington that the two sides should ‘appropriately control’ disputes and sensitive issues
China’s top diplomat Yang Jiechi called for Beijing and Washington to improve coordination on the North Korea nuclear threat as he wrapped up a trip to the United States on Saturday.
Yang met US President Donald Trump during the two-day visit and said both nations should maintain close exchanges at all levels.
The two sides should “strengthen coordination on the Korean peninsula nuclear issue”, Yang said during the meeting in Washington, according to a statement from the Chinese foreign ministry.
China and the US have been divided on how to deal with North Korea, with China repeatedly warning the US not to attempt a pre-emptive strike on the country and Trump reportedly mulling precisely that.
State Councillor Yang also said the two sides should “appropriately control” their disputes and sensitive issues, and implement the consensus Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping had reached during the US leader’s visit to Beijing in November.
Yang told Trump that the two countries needed to improve cooperation in areas including trade, military, law enforcement, counter-narcotics and culture.
China sends top envoy to US as trade war looms and North Korea risks a bloody nose
Yang’s remarks came amid a thaw in relations between the two Koreas at the start of the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.
