N. Korea on Rody, Xi agenda

BEIJING – President Duterte and Chinese President Xi Jinping are likely to discuss further how to deal with North Korea when the two leaders sit down for an expanded bilateral meeting on Monday on the sidelines of the One Belt, One Road Forum here.

Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez, who is part of the Philippine delegation, said this could be a follow-up to the two leaders’ recent phone conversation about Pyongyang.

Lopez said there is a high level of trust and friendship

between the Philippines and China, and the discussion on North Korea would likely focus on what is mutually beneficial to the two countries.

“They might be discussing possible solutions to that issue in North Korea, jointly,” he said without elaborating.

Duterte is set to meet with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang at the Beijing Hall, Great Hall of the People at 5:30 p.m. on Monday.

This will be followed by the expanded bilateral meeting with Xi and then a restricted meeting also at the Great Hall of the People.

This is Duterte’s last stop on this latest trip that brought him to Cambodia for the World Economic Forum on ASEAN and then Hong Kong for some meetings.

The One Belt, One Road (OBOR) is a collection of interlinking trade deals and infrastructure projects throughout Eurasia and the Pacific where the Philippines is expected to benefit economically.

Shortly after the 30th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Manila last month, Duterte urged the United States to show restraint after North Korea’s latest missile test.

Duterte also warned against playing into the hands of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

Duterte announced the position of the 10-member ASEAN, which expressed “serious concern” over the developments in the Korean Peninsula.

US President Donald Trump then called the Chief Executive, who reiterated the ASEAN’s concerns.

Three days later, Duterte said he called Xi upon the request of Trump as he cited Beijing’s important role in promoting peace on the Korean Peninsula.

China’s state-run Xinhua news agency quoted Xi as urging all parties to exercise restraint and return to dialogue and negotiations in realizing a denuclearized peninsula.

The US has been pressuring China to do more to stop Pyongyang from further missile and nuclear tests.

The Philippines has forged closer ties with China rather than the US despite the South China Sea dispute that strained relations between Manila and Beijing.