Xi holds phone conversation with Trump on trade, DPRK

World
Europe

00:54

Chinese President Xi Jinping held a phone conversation with US President Donald Trump on trade and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) issue on Tuesday.

Communication on trade issue

During the phone talks, Xi said he pays high attention to China-US relations, calling for the two sides to push for the stable and healthy development of bilateral ties.

Talking about the recent trade talks in Beijing between China and the US, Xi said the two countries should keep communication to find a solution to their differences and gain mutually beneficial results.

China and the US should maintain high-level exchanges and those at all levels under the principles of mutual respect and mutual benefit, Xi said.

Xi said the development of China-US relations is now at an important stage, adding that he highly values the development of bilateral ties and cherishes his good working relationship with Trump.

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, a member of the US trade delegation to China, waves to the media as he returns to a hotel in Beijing, May 3, 2018. /VCG Photo

Xi said he hopes that the two countries will earnestly implement the consensus reached by him and Trump during the US president's visit to China last November.

Economic and trade cooperation has always played the role of ballast and propeller in the China-US relations, Xi said, adding that the two sides had open, efficient and constructive negotiations last week in Beijing on the trade issue.

For his part, Trump said Washington attaches great importance to the US-China relations and he is looking forward to continuing keeping close contacts with Xi.

Trump expressed his willingness to make concerted efforts with China to strengthen practical cooperation in various fields, properly handle the US-China trade issue, promote the US-China relations to achieve greater development so as to benefit the two peoples.

Views on Korean Peninsula issue

The two leaders also exchanged views on the Korean Peninsula issue. Xi reiterated China’s stance, stressing that Beijing supports the upcoming leaders’ summit between the US and the DPRK.

China hopes that Washington and Pyongyang can meet each other halfway, build on mutual trust, take phased approach and resolve each other's concerns through dialogue, so as to jointly push for a political solution to the Korean Peninsula issue, Xi said.

In this photo released by the US government on April 26, 2018, DPRK leader Kim Jong Un (R) shakes hands with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Pyongyang over the 2018 Easter weekend. /VCG Photo‍

He asked the US side to consider Pyongyang's reasonable security concerns.

Xi said China is willing to continue playing an active role in realizing the denuclearization of the peninsula as well as the lasting peace and stability in the region.

Trump told Xi that the US pays high attention to China’s stance on the Korean Peninsula issue, and is willing to strengthen communication and coordination with China to resolve the issue through negotiations and consultations.

The talks came after President Xi met with the DPRK's leader Kim Jong Un in Dalian, northeast China's Liaoning Province, on Monday and Tuesday.

Kim is expected to hold talks with President Trump within weeks in a highly-anticipated meeting that follows an inter-Korean summit between Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in last month amid unprecedented rapprochement between the two countries.