Xi, Trump confer over Kim meeting
US leader says push for dialogue has proved to be the correct stance
President Xi Jinping has told US President Donald Trump that China hoped Washington and Pyongyang will begin contacts and dialogue as soon as possible to achieve positive outcomes.
Xi made the comment in a phone conversation with Trump, and they had an in-depth exchange of views on the current situation of the Korean Peninsula and China-US relations, Xinhua News Agency reported on Friday night.
The planned summit between the United States and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea was announced on Thursday by Republic of Korea national security adviser Chung Euiyong, who was in the US capital to brief officials on the DPRK-ROK talks held this week.
Xi told Trump that China also hopes all parties involved can show more goodwill, avoid actions that may affect and disturb the improving situation on the Korean Peninsula, and strive to maintain the current positive momentum.
The positive changes taking place are conducive to getting the peninsula’s denuclearization process back on track for settlement through dialogue, and are also in line with the direction outlined by United Nations Security Council resolutions regarding the DPRK, Xi said.
Xi hailed Trump’s proactive willingness to seek a political settlement of the peninsula issue.
Trump said that the US-DPRK high-level meeting, if held, would be a good thing for all parties, and he hopes the DPRK nuclear issue could be resolved eventually.
The stance upheld by Xi — that the US should have a dialogue with the DPRK — is correct, Trump said.
The US is very grateful to and attaches great importance to the important role of China on the peninsula issue and is willing to maintain close contacts and coordination with China, Trump added, according to Xinhua.
Xi said China is firmly committed to achieving the denuclearization of the peninsula, maintaining its peace and stability and upholding the idea of solving the issue through dialogue and consultation.
As long as all parties stay committed to the direction of political and diplomatic settlement, progress will surely be made in taking the peninsula issue in the direction expected by the international community, Xi said.
The two heads of state also exchanged views on ChinaUS relations, Xinhua said.
Xi noted that he has been in close contact with Trump this year, and they both agreed that the working teams of both sides should work in the spirit of having no time to lose.
It is hoped that the two sides will work together on the basis of mutual respect and mutual benefit, focus on cooperation and manage and control differences, promote win-win economic cooperation and push for greater progress of bilateral relations in the new year, Xi said.
Trump congratulated China on the successful convening of its annual two sessions. He said the US attaches great importance to US-China ties and bilateral cooperation.
Xi thanked Trump for his greetings and said the successful convening of the two sessions in China will provide a positive impetus for China’s development as well as the development of China’s relations with countries including the United States.
An official from the Republic of Korea dropped a bombshell on Thursday by announcing that US President Donald Trump has agreed to meet Kim Jong-un, top leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, by May, and that Pyongyang will refrain from conducting nuclear or missile tests.
“Kim Jong-un talked about denuclearization with the South Korean Representatives, not just a freeze,” Trump tweeted following the ROK National Security Adviser Chung Eui-yong’s announcement.
Since no sitting US president has ever met with a DPRK leader, a meeting between Trump and Kim will mark a breakthrough and should be welcomed by all countries, including China.
Given such dramatic developments on the Korean Peninsula, Chinese people, the whole world, actually, are wondering about how China will respond. China should remain — in fact, it has remained — calm in the face of such a positive development.
And it will never feel “marginalized” because denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and restoring peace and stability there are China’s top goal that outweighs anything else, including its ties with the two Koreas and the power games being played in the Asia-Pacific region. It should be composed also because any turbulence on the peninsula caused by Pyongyang’s nuclear activities would pose a potential security threat to China, its northeastern region in particular.
China has restored its ties with the DPRK to normal state-to-state relations, and bilateral economic ties are mainly based on equality and mutual benefit, although the two sides are still linked by an ideological bond. China’s influence on the Korean Peninsula, if any, is based on its enhanced strength and geographical location. China’s ability to sway the configuration of international sanctions also makes it a key party to the Korean Peninsula issue.
However, China is not the dominating party in the issue, as it doesn’t directly decide the attitude of any of the other parties involved.
China’s efforts to break the stalemate in the Korean nuclear issue have paid off, as the latest development is exactly what China has been painstakingly working for. China proposed the “dual-suspension” approach (the DPRK suspending its nuclear and missile tests in exchange for the United States and the ROK suspending their large-scale military drills) as a way to ultimately resolve the issue, and such a scenario has finally emerged.
Besides, China’s “dual-track approach”, which suggests denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula through a peace mechanism, has also gained ground. China has joined United Nations-led sanctions against the DPRK over the past two years, and objected to the proposed extreme measures, such as maritime blockade against Pyongyang, as they could ignite a military conflict, and leave no room for resolving the peninsula issue through peaceful means.
As a major power, China does not need to worry about the DPRK possibly “seeking refuge in” the US, especially because for years it has been pushing for direct dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang and has all the reason to adhere to it now.
Also, China has no reason not to feel happy at a Trump-Kim meeting that would contribute to the process of denuclearization of the peninsula, as the eventual resolution of the peninsula nuclear issue will help China develop better ties with the DPRK.
Beijing respects Pyongyang’s decision to defuse tensions on the peninsula, and will consistently support peaceful means to denuclearize the peninsula.