China’s Xi praises Kim for Trump summit

BEIJING • Xi Jinping has told Kim Jong Un that he hopes the outcome of his historic meeting with Donald Trump last week can be implemented, in a coded message of support for denuclearization.

The Chinese president held discussions with Kim during the North Korean leader’s third visit to China since March, as Beijing seeks to ensure it continues to exert influence over efforts to remove the nuclear threat in the Korean peninsula and shape the future of northeast Asia.

During his surprise visit to Beijing Tuesday, Kim briefed Xi on the discussions he held with Trump at their summit in Singapore, which the Chinese leader described as an “important step toward the political solution of the Korean peninsula nuclear issue”.

Xi said China hoped North Korea and the U.S. could “implement well the outcomes achieved at the summit,” China’s state broadcaster CCTV reported. China would “as always play a constructive role” in that process, Xi said.

Kim and Trump agreed on a vague set of objectives aimed at bringing stability to the Korean peninsula, while Trump also pledged to end joint U.S.-South Korea military drills — a suspension the Pentagon confirmed on Monday.

The move is seen as potentially weakening defences and diplomacy among America’s Asian allies, while bolstering China and Russia.

Deng Yuwen, an international relations expert at the Charhar institute in Beijing, said China would be seeking to use North Korea as a bargaining chip amid heightened trade tensions between Washington and Beijing.

“Trump has approved potential tariffs against China, so it is time for China to play the North Korea card to deal with America,” said Deng.

“If Kim does not want to abandon his nuclear arms completely, then China will be happy to act as a broker between Pyongyang and the U.S.,” he said.

Kim is likely hoping to get China’s support for relief from punishing UN sanctions.

At a regularly scheduled briefing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said Tuesday that Beijing supported Russia’s calls last week for unilateral sanctions on North Korea — ones that aren’t imposed within the United Nations framework — to be cancelled immediately.

“China always stands against the so-called unilateral sanctions outside the Security Council framework. This position is very clear and we believe sanctions themselves are not the end,” Geng said.

While Beijing and Moscow have supported UN restrictions, they bristle at Washington imposing sanctions on its own to pressure North Korea.