The call comes as Trump warns North Korea is “looking for trouble” and a U. S. carrier is on its way.
BEIJING — Chinese President Xi Jinping urged President Trump to find a peaceful solution to the crisis on the Korean Peninsula during a telephone call between the two leaders early Wednesday, Chinese state media reported.
The phone call comes just four days after the pair held face-to-face talks in Florida and hours after Trump tweeted that North Korea was “looking for trouble, ” and the United States would “solve the problem” with or without China’s help.
The People’s Daily, the official Communist Party mouthpiece, said Xi had thanked Trump for his “warm hospitality and thoughtful arrangements” in Florida, but also took the chance to discuss their “common concerns” about the Korean Peninsula and urge against any military escalation of the situation.
“Xi Jinping stressed that China insists on realizing the goal of denuclearization of the peninsula, insists on maintaining peace and stability on the peninsula, advocates resolving the problem through peaceful means and is willing to maintain communication and coordination with the U. S. side on the issue of the peninsula, ” the paper wrote.
The Pentagon sent a Navy strike group led by the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier towards the Korean Peninsula over the weekend to “maintain readiness” amid concerns the regime in Pyongyang could be preparing for more missile launches and a possible sixth nuclear test.
The Carl Vinson is accompanied by a carrier air wing, a guided-missile cruiser and two destroyers, which Trump described as “an armada, very powerful, ” to Fox Business Network. “We have submarines. Very powerful. Far more powerful than the aircraft carrier. That I can tell you, ” Trump said.
During their telephone conversation, Xi said he and Trump had “enhanced mutual understanding, ” and established a good working relationship. On Syria, Xi said “any uses of chemical weapons are unacceptable, ” and also urged for a political settlement, as well as “solidarity” and unanimity at the United Nations Security Council.
But Lv Chao, a North Korean studies expert at Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences, said the situation in the Korean Peninsula appeared to top the agenda, warning that it had become a “very serious standoff” after the U. S. carrier had entered nearby waters.
“The concerned parties should really signal red lights and hit the brake to defuse the situation, ” Lv said.
