Trump presses China on N. Korea

‘Bilateral trade had been unfair to US’

BEIJING, Nov 9, (RTRS): US President Donald Trump pressed China to do more to rein in North Korea on Thursday and said bilateral trade had been unfair to the United States, but praised President Xi Jinping’s pledge that China would be more open to foreign firms.

On North Korea’s nuclear and missile programmes, Trump said “China can fix this problem quickly and easily”, urging Beijing to cut financial links with North Korea and also calling on Russia to help.

Trump was speaking alongside Xi in the Chinese capital to announce the signing of about $250 billion in commercial deals between US and Chinese firms, a display that some in the US business community worry detracts from tackling deep-seated complaints about market access in China.

Xi said the Chinese economy would become increasingly open and transparent to foreign firms, including those from the United States, and welcomed US companies to participate in his ambitious “Belt and Road” infrastructure-led initiative.

Trump made clear that he blamed his predecessors, not China, for the trade imbalance, and repeatedly praised Xi, calling him “a very special man”.

“But we will make it fair and it will be tremendous for both of us,” Trump said.

Xi smiled widely when Trump said he does not blame China for the deficit and also when Trump said Xi gets things done.

“Of course there are some frictions, but on the basis of win-win cooperation and fair competition, we hope we can solve all these issues in a frank and consultative way,” Xi said.

“Keeping opening up is our long-term strategy. We will never narrow or close our doors. We will further widen them,” he said. China would also offer a more fair and transparent environment for foreign firms, including US ones, Xi said.

Trump is pressing China to tighten

Munavar Baig Amina Begam, 38, a naturalised Singapore citizen originally from India, was radicalised online by a contact who convinced her the IS group was fighting to defend Sunni Muslims in the conflict zone, the Ministry of Home Affairs said in a statement.

“She was radicalised to the extent that the screws further on North Korea and its development of nuclear weapons in defiance of UN sanctions. At least modest progress is hoped for, although there are no immediate signs of a major breakthrough, a US official said earlier.

Referring to Xi, Trump said: “I do believe there’s a solution to that, as do you.”

Xi reiterated that China would strive for the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula but offered no hint that China would change tack on North Korea, with which it fought side-by-side in the 195053 Korean war against US-led forces.

“We are devoted to reaching a resolution to the Korean peninsula issue through dialogue and consultations,” Xi said.

Briefing reporters after the talks, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Trump told Xi: “You’re a strong man, I’m sure you can solve this for me.”

Differences

Tillerson said both leaders agreed they could not accept a nuclear-armed North Korea but he acknowledged they had some differences over tactics and timing.

Tillerson pointed out that Trump, in a speech in Seoul, had “invited the North Koreans to come to the table,” in line with the Chinese desire for a negotiated solution. He added, however, that Trump was prepared for a “military response” if he deemed the threat serious enough, but “that’s not his first choice”.

“We are going to work hard on diplomatic efforts as well,” he said, but did not elaborate.

In a show of the importance China puts on Trump’s first official visit, Thursday’s welcoming ceremony outside Beijing’s Great Hall of the People overlooking Tiananmen Square was broadcast live on state television — unprecedented treatment for a visiting leader.

Earlier on Thursday, Xi said he had a deep exchange of views with Trump and reached consensus on numerous issues

she was prepared to undergo military training and take up arms to fight for ISIS in the Middle-East if called upon by ISIS to do so,” said the ministry, using another name for the jihadists.

Amina, who also shared IS propaganda on social media, has been detained under the tough Internal Security Act, which of mutual concern.

“For China, cooperation is the only real choice, only win-win can lead to an even better future,” he said.

Xi said China and the United States strengthened high-level dialogue on all fronts over the past year and boosted coordination on major international issues, such as the Korean peninsula and Afghanistan.

“Relations between China and the United States are now on a new historical starting point,” Xi said.

Trump and Xi hit it off at their first meeting in April at Trump’s Mar-aLago resort in Florida and continued their “bromance” on Wednesday with an afternoon of sightseeing together with their wives. However, divisions persist over trade and North Korea.

And while Xi is riding high after consolidating power at a twice-a-decade Communist Party Congress last month, Trump comes to China saddled with low public approval ratings and dogged by investigations into Russian links to his election campaign.

Trump has ratcheted up his criticism of China’s massive trade surplus with the United States — calling it “embarrassing” and “horrible” last week — and has accused Beijing of unfair trade practices.

For its part, China says US restrictions on Chinese investment in the United States and on high-tech exports need to be addressed.

Several corporate chief executives were in Beijing as part of a delegation led by US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, with General Electric and semiconductor maker Qualcomm Inc among those announcing billions of dollars in sales to China.

But Qualcomm’s agreement to sell $12 billion worth of components to three Chinese mobile phone makers over three years is non-binding, and critics say such public announcements are sometimes more show than substance.

allows for detention without trial for up to two years.

The arrest comes amid attempts by IS to establish a base in Southeast Asia. (AFP)

PNG refugees warned

Refugees holed up in a closed Australian detention camp on Papua New Guinea were warned Thursday authorities will move in, using force if necessary, if they do not leave by the weekend.

The remote facility on Manus Island — one of two offshore centres that holds asylum-seekers who try to reach Australia by boat — was closed more than a week ago after the PNG Supreme Court ruled last year it was unconstitutional.

But some 600 men have refused to move to transition centres, saying they fear locals there would be hostile.

Water, power and food supplies have been cut with a Papua New Guinea court on Tuesday rejecting one refugee’s application to have them restored. With conditions deteriorating, PNG Prime Minister Peter O’Neill said the holdouts must move to the new accommodation.

“The Manus centre was established for the sole reason of processing asylum claims. Now all claims have been processed and the centre has closed,” he said.

“Given the Supreme Court’s decision, the government has no choice but to intervene for the well-being of both the refugees and non-refugees.”

He warned that “appropriate means” would be used to “apprehend individuals who are causing unnecessary anxiety and violence”. (AFP)