Chinese President Xi Jinping has agreed to boost cooperation with the U.S. on trying to persuade North Korea to abandon its pursuit of long-range nuclear weapons, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Friday.
In an off-camera briefing with reporters on the second and final day of President Trump’s summit with his Chinese counterpart, Tillerson said the two leaders recognized the imminent threat North Korea poses and agreed to respond accordingly.
“The two sides noted the urgency of the threat of North Korea’s weapons program, reaffirmed their commitment to a denuclearized Korean Peninsula, and committed to fully implement U.N. Security Council resolutions,” Tillerson said, adding that the conversation was “wide-ranging [and] very comprehensive.”
“I think President Xi, from their part, shared the view that this has reached a very serious stage in terms of the advancement of North Korea’s nuclear capabilities,” he continued.
Trump and Xi agreed on the need to work with other foreign powers to convince North Korea “to peacefully resolve the issue and abandon its illicit weapons programs.”
Tillerson said the president also dedicated much of his first face-to-face meeting with Xi to discussing trade and the bilateral economic relationship between the U.S. and China.
“We had very direct and frank conversations about how we would work together. [Commerce] Secretary [Wilbur] Ross and I will be leading that jointly, and we will be focused on trade, investment, and other economic opportunities between both countries,” he said.
The top diplomat emphasized the importance of “restructuring” the United States’ dialogue with China and focusing on “very specific” issues that can be addressed in the short-term.
