BEIJING - China hopes both it and the United States can increase their coordination on the North Korea issue, China’s top diplomat Yang Jiechi told U.S. President Donald Trump during a meeting in Washington, China’s Foreign Ministry said on Saturday.
The United States has repeatedly pressed China, North Korea’s most significant trading partner, to do more to rein in Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programmes.
China says it is committed to fully enforcing United Nations resolutions on North Korea, which include sweeping sanctions, but that all parties must make more efforts to reduce tensions and get the talks process re-started.
Meeting on Friday in the White House, State Councillor Yang, who outranks the foreign minister, told Trump he hopes both countries can work hard together and “strengthen coordination on the Korean peninsula nuclear issue”, China’s Foreign Ministry said. The statement gave no further details on their discussions on North Korea. China has said it hopes the thaw in ties between North and South Korea over this month’s Winter Olympics, happening in South Korea, can be translated over into regular talks between the two and even to talks between Pyongyang and Washington. (Reuters)