{"id":65134,"date":"2018-05-09T05:58:50","date_gmt":"2018-05-09T05:58:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=65134"},"modified":"2018-05-09T05:58:50","modified_gmt":"2018-05-09T05:58:50","slug":"kim-xi-summit-sends-signal-to-trump-of-chinas-key-role","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/world-news\/kim-xi-summit-sends-signal-to-trump-of-chinas-key-role.html","title":{"rendered":"Kim-Xi summit sends signal to Trump of China’s key role"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kim-Xi summit sends signal to Trump of China’s key role<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

Beijing wants this week\u2019s surprise China-North Korea summit to send the message to Washington that China remains crucial to a Korean Peninsula solution before the North\u2019s Kim Jong Un holds a historic meeting with President Donald Trump, analysts say.<\/span><\/p>\n

Chinese President Xi Jinping wants to protect Beijing\u2019s strategic interests and ensure it has a voice in the process, particularly when it comes to maintaining a friendly regime in Pyongyang as a buffer from the U.S. and South Korea forces stationed across the 38th parallel. Just a day after Kim\u2019s visit, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived in North Korea on Wednesday to finalize details for Trump\u2019s summit with Kim.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kim meanwhile registered his desire for Chinese support in the talks, particularly his call for a \u201cphased and synchronous\u201d approach to denuclearization, as opposed to Trump\u2019s demand for an immediate end to its nuclear programs.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think Xi wants to head-off a surprise outcome from the Trump-Kim summit,\u201d said Bonnie Glaser, senior adviser for Asia at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C.<\/span><\/p>\n

Xi and Kim held talks Monday and Tuesday in the northern Chinese port of Dalian, the second time they\u2019ve met in just over a month following Kim\u2019s unannounced trip to Beijing in late March. That was his first overseas visit since taking power six years ago and a powerful sign of the enduring relationship between the communist neighbors despite years of fraying ties.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Dalian summit was also significant in that Xi was expected to visit Pyongyang prior to Kim returning to China, showing that Kim has finally agreed to accept the role of \u201cjunior partner\u201d in the relationship after a lengthy period of strained relations, said Michael Mazza of the American Enterprise Institute think tank in Washington, D.C.<\/span><\/p>\n

Amid tranquil scenes of the two leaders chatting beside deep blue ocean waters and strolling through lush gardens, state media quoted Xi as telling Kim that China \u201csupports North Korea to stick to denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and supports North Korea and the U.S. in solving the peninsula issue through dialogue and consultation.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Kim said North Korea remains committed to denuclearization and has no need to possess nuclear weapons if a \u201crelevant party\u201d drops its \u201chostile policy and security threats\u201d against it, a clear reference to the United States.<\/span><\/p>\n

The exact time and location of Kim\u2019s meeting with Trump have not yet been announced. U.S. officials say besides working on those details, Pompeo will also press North Korea for the release of three detained American citizens, whose imminent release Trump has been hinting at. His trip comes just days after North Korea expressed displeasure with Washington for comments suggesting that massive U.S. pressure had pushed Kim to the negotiating table.<\/span><\/p>\n

Trump discussed the summit in Dalian with Xi in a phone call Tuesday, along with \u201crecent developments on the Korean Peninsula,\u201d the White House said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPresident Trump and President Xi agreed on the importance of continued implementation of sanctions on North Korea until it permanently dismantles its nuclear and missile programs,\u201d it said…Trump tweeted before the call that \u201cPlans are being made, relationships are building, hopefully a deal will happen and with the help of China, South Korea and Japan a future of great prosperity and security can be achieved for everyone.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Glaser said Xi wants to ensure that Chinese interests are protected in North Korea\u2019s negotiations with Washington. At a minimum, that means ensuring \u201ca seat at the negotiating table assuming that talks begin in earnest,\u201d Glaser said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kim is also hoping to enlist China\u2019s hope in persuading Trump to be flexible in his demands for a verifiable halt to North Korea\u2019s nuclear programs.<\/span><\/p>\n

By hosting Kim twice before the summit, Xi is also asserting, at least symbolically, \u201cChina\u2019s primacy on the Korean Peninsula,\u201d Mazza said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMore broadly, if some kind of grand bargain is in the offing, Xi wants to ensure that it doesn\u2019t lead to a fundamental shift in the strategic environment detrimental to Chinese interests,\u201d Mazza said.<\/span><\/p>\n

China sent troops to fight on the North\u2019s behalf in the 1950-53 Korean War, and for years afterward, the relationship was described as being \u201cas close as lips and teeth.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Trump tweeted before the call that \u201cPlans are being made, relationships are building, hopefully a deal will happen and with the help of China, South Korea and Japan a future of great prosperity and security can be achieved for everyone.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Glaser said Xi wants to ensure that Chinese interests are protected in North Korea\u2019s negotiations with Washington. At a minimum, that means ensuring \u201ca seat at the negotiating table assuming that talks begin in earnest,\u201d Glaser said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kim is also hoping to enlist China\u2019s hope in persuading Trump to be flexible in his demands for a verifiable halt to North Korea\u2019s nuclear programs.<\/span><\/p>\n

By hosting Kim twice before the summit, Xi is also asserting, at least symbolically, \u201cChina\u2019s primacy on the Korean Peninsula,\u201d Mazza said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMore broadly, if some kind of grand bargain is in the offing, Xi wants to ensure that it doesn\u2019t lead to a fundamental shift in the strategic environment detrimental to Chinese interests,\u201d Mazza said.<\/span><\/p>\n

China sent troops to fight on the North\u2019s behalf in the 1950-53 Korean War, and for years afterward, the relationship was described as being \u201cas close as lips and teeth.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

But ties deteriorated markedly after Kim took power and undertook an ever-more aggressive pursuit of nuclear weapons and the ballistic missiles to deliver them.<\/span><\/p>\n

China has accounted for about 90 percent of North Korea\u2019s foreign trade, but in recent years has enforced United Nations sanctions that have squeezed the North\u2019s economy. The pressure increased significantly after North Korea\u2019s test of a significantly more powerful nuclear device in September.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFor Xi, the important message is simply that China is a key player for a solution over the Korean Peninsula and this (Dalian) meeting is meant to reaffirm this message, in particular for Donald Trump,\u201d said Steve Tsang, director of the China Institute at London\u2019s School of Oriental and African Studies.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kim, meanwhile, probably intended for the Dalian meeting to signal that \u201cChina remains an ally of North Korea and thus will be there to support him should Trump set the price too high for a deal,\u201d Tsang said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:-https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/world\/asia_pacific\/kim-xi-summit-sends-signal-to-trump-of-chinas-key-role\/2018\/05\/09\/ed8999e4-5345-11e8-a6d4-ca1d035642ce_story.html?utm_term=.c3e5da0ce322<\/span><\/p>\n

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