US Secretary of State sees a chance to reset ties with China for the next 50 years, as he sets out foreign policy agenda
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson laid out his plans Wednesday for tackling world issues including the standoff with North Korea, saying the US should test China by “leaning in hard” on President Xi Jinping to curtail Pyongyang’s activities. Three months after taking over the State Department, Washington’s top diplomat gave a wide-ranging pep talk to his staff around the globe on the work ahead. In his budget proposal, US President Donald Trump has proposed slashing the US foreign relations and aid budget by more than a quarter. But Tillerson reassured his audience that they would be consulted on plans to restructure the department even as they work together on the key challenges. North Korea’s efforts to develop an arsenal of nuclear-armed missiles capable of reaching US cities were the “greatest threat” faced by the United States, he said. Tillerson told the diplomats that he had advised Trump to “test” China’s commitment to reining in its neighbour by “leaning in hard” on Preident Xi. If Beijing failed to enforce existing UN sanctions, he warned, then Washington could take action against Chinese banks or companies that deal with Pyongyang. “So it’s a pressure campaign that has a knob on it. I’ d say we’ re at about dial setting 5 or 6 right now, ” he said, without saying how high the dial goes. “I would say we’ re at about the 20 to 25 per cent stage of this strategy… but we’ ve got a lot of work left to do to keep that pressure on.” China’s role in North Korea may be the most pressing issue, but Tillerson said he sensed an opening to reset the basis of China-US ties for the next 50 years.
