U.S. and
Chinese diplomatic and defence chiefs will meet Wednesday for a security
dialogue that Washington says will focus on curbing North Korea’s nuclear and
missile
programmes.
The talks in
Washington will involve U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Secretary of
Defence Jim Mattis as well as China’s top diplomat, State Councilor Yang
Jiechi, and Gen. Fang Fenghui, chief of state of the People’s Liberation Army,
the U.S. State Department said.
It will be
the inaugural session of the U.S.-China Diplomatic and Security Dialogue, a
framework launched by President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping
during a summit in Florida in April.
The State
Department said the aim was “to expand areas of cooperation while narrowing
differences on key diplomatic and security issues.”
U.S.-China
ties have warmed since the April summit, in spite of continued U.S. concerns
about China’s pursuit of territory in the South China Sea and a large trade
imbalance.
Tillerson
has said North Korea will top the agenda on Wednesday and made it clear that
Washington wanted more help from China in pressing Pyongyang to abandon its
weapons programs, calling Chinese efforts so far “notable” but “uneven.”
The focus on
North Korea has been sharpened by dozens of North Korean missile launches and
two nuclear bomb tests since the beginning of 2016.
North Korea
says it is working to develop a nuclear-tipped missile capable of hitting the
United States, and this week Mattis called it the “most urgent” threat to U.S.
national security.
China is
party to UN economic sanctions on North Korea.
It remains
the country’s main ally and trading partner and has been reluctant to impose
the sort of punishing measures experts say are needed to get Pyongyang to
abandon its weapons programmes.
In Beijing,
asked about the talks, China’s foreign ministry spokesman, Lu Kang, said, “The
two sides are in close communication about the schedule, but the issues
discussed will be those that both countries are concerned about and that
involve China-U.S. relations.”
He did not
elaborate.
On Tuesday,
Tillerson said Washington was considering imposing “secondary sanctions” on
foreign firms doing business with North Korea and had been in discussions with
Beijing about the activities of entities inside China.
A Washington
think tank said this week that North Korea’s effort to circumvent sanctions was
complex but could be defeated by targeting relatively few Chinese firms.
The U.N.
Security Council expanded targeted sanctions against North Korea this month in
the first such resolution agreed by the United States and China since Trump
took office.
Washington
has been pushing for even tougher steps, including an oil embargo, bans of
North Korea’s airline and overseas workers and interception of its cargo ships.
(Source:
Reuters/NAN)
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