07/07/2019
BEIJING (Reuters) – China has received a briefing from the United States on the latest meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, China’s Foreign Ministry said on Saturday, in a call between two senior diplomats.
Trump became the first sitting U.S. president to set foot in North Korea on Sunday when he met Kim in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) at Panmunjom between the two Koreas and agreed to resume stalled nuclear talks.
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Luo Zhaohui and U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun discussed that meeting in a telephone call on Friday, China’s Foreign Ministry said in a short statement.
“Biegun introduced the meeting between the U.S. and North Korean leaders at Panmunjom, and said the U.S. side is willing to strengthen communication and coordination with the Chinese side on the peninsula issue,” the ministry added.
Luo told Biegun the recent “positive interactions” on the North Korean issue by all parties had important meaning for the peace talks process, the ministry said.
“China supports U.S.-North Korea exchanges and dialogue and hopes that the two sides will meet each other halfway and follow the consensus of the leaders of the two countries to resume consultations at the working level as soon as possible,” it added.
Trump’s meeting with Kim came around a week after Chinese President Xi Jinping met Kim himself during a state visit to Pyongyang.
While China has not officially announced it, Luo is likely China’s new special envoy for the North Korea issue, after predecessor Kong Xuanyou became China’s new ambassador in Tokyo in late May.
Luo was also involved in a briefing to Chinese reporters on Xi’s visit to North Korea before Xi went, according to state media.
Luo is an urbane career diplomat who speaks good English, according to diplomats who have met him.
He previously served as China’s ambassador in Canada, Pakistan and India, and also worked in the Chinese embassy in Washington from 1996-2000.
Source: Reuters
Posted in canada, China alert, China’s ambassador, China’s Foreign Ministry, Chinese embassy in Washington, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Chinese vice foreign minister, Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), India alert, Kim Jong Un, Luo Zhaohui, North Korea issue, North Korean leader, nuclear talks, Pakistan, Panmunjom, Trump-Kim meeting, two Koreas, U.S., U.S. Special Representative for North Korea, Uncategorized, US President Donald Trump |
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13/05/2019
- Three-day visit comes ahead of Chinese President’s planned attendance at G20 summit in Osaka next month
Yang Jiechi’s three-day visit to Japan starts on Thursday. Photo: Bloomberg
China’s top diplomat Yang Jiechi will visit Japan for three days from Thursday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Monday.
The visit is likely to work out details of President Xi Jinping’s planned visit to Japan for this year’s summit of the Group of 20 major economies in Osaka in late June, sources familiar with bilateral relations had said last week.
Yang, a member of the Political Bureau of the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Committee, is likely to meet the country’s national security adviser Shotaro Yachi on Thursday and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe the following day, according to the sources.
Xi’s visit, if it goes ahead, would be his first since he came to power in 2013 and the first by a Chinese head of state since Hu Jintao in November 2010.
Yang and Yachi will also hold the sixth China-Japan high-level political dialogue.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pictured at the G20 summit in Argentina last year. Photo: AP
At this dialogue, which is an annual consultation plan agreed on by the two sides, the two sides will exchange views on China-Japan relations and issues of common concern, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said at a regular press briefing.
For years, the two neighbours have been mired in a territorial dispute over the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. The group of uninhabited islets, which are called Diaoyu in Chinese, are controlled by Japan but claimed by China.
But Sino-Japanese ties have been markedly improving recently, with 2018 – the 40th anniversary of the signing and entering into force of the bilateral Treaty of Peace and Friendship – serving as an incentive to forge better relations.
The dispute over the Senkaku – or Diaoyu – Islands is a long-standing barrier to better relations. Photo: Kyodo
In an interview with Japanese media, Chinese vice foreign minister Kong Xuanyou said the relationship between China and Japan has just returned to normal after going through ups and downs over the years, and both sides need to treasure the development.
“China is willing to work with Japan to further promote China-Japan relations,” he was quoted as saying in a Chinese foreign ministry transcript.
Kong also rejected suggestions that ties between China and Japan have become closer because of the China-US trade war – which pushed Beijing to seek support from its neighbours.
“Putting the relations between China, Japan and the US at opposite from each other is a zero-sum game and cold war mentality. China does not agree with it,” he said. “The friendly relationship among these two nations can be developed in parallel. This is welcomed by the region and the world”.
Source: SCMP
Posted in Beijing, China-US trade war, China’s top diplomat, Chinese vice foreign minister, Diaoyu, East China Sea, Geng Shuang, Japan, Japanese Prime Minister, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Kong Xuanyou, Osaka, Senkaku Islands, Sino-Japanese ties, Treaty of Peace and Friendship, Uncategorized, Vice-President Hu Jintao, Xi JinPing, Yang Jiechi |
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