Xi, Trump discuss Korean Peninsula
Presidents agree to keep lines of communication open on the issue
China would like nations involved in the Korean Peninsula situation to keep up the hard-won momentum that is easing tensions amid positive changes, President Xi Jinping told US President Donald Trump in a phone call on Tuesday.
Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and safeguarding peace and stability in the region is in accordance with the common interests of all sides, Xi said, adding that it is vital for the international community to stay united regarding the issue.
Xi called on all related parties to work together to create conditions for the resumption of talks over the Korean Peninsula situation.
China is ready to continue its joint efforts with the United States and other members of the international community to achieve progress that would finally lead to a proper resolution, Xi said.
Trump said the United States values China’s significant role in resolving the situation and is willing to enhance communication with China over the issue.
The two leaders also exchanged views on China-US relations. Maintaining strong bilateral ties is in the interests of both sides and conforms to the common aspiration of the international community, Xi said.
The two sides need to maintain high-level interactions as well as those at various lower levels, bring the four high-level dialogues into play and hold a second round of dialogues when appropriate, Xi said.
As economic and trade cooperation brings tangible benefits to both sides, the two countries should adopt constructive measures to properly settle economic and trade issues of mutual concern by opening up the market to each other and “making the cake of cooperation bigger”, Xi said.
The Chinese president also called for advancing cooperation between the two
militaries, in law enforcement, drug control, culture and people-to-people exchanges, along with cooperation on local levels and close communication and coordination on major international and regional issues.
The two sides need to respect each other, focus on cooperation, deal with sensitive issues in a constructive way, respect each other’s core interests and major concerns and maintain the momentum of sound and steady development of China-US relations, he said.
Trump said the US attaches great importance to its relations with China as well as to US-China cooperation, and that it is willing to work with China to enhance bilateral exchanges at all levels, expand pragmatic cooperation and properly handle problems in trade to achieve even greater relations.