Trump in China for talks with Xi amid North Korea tensions
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| Trump in china |
US President
Donald Trump has landed in China for talks likely to be dominated by tensions
over North Korea, Owojela's Blog learnt.
His arrival
came after a speech to the South Korean parliament in which Mr Trump urged
China to further isolate North Korea.
The White
House sees China as pivotal in reining in the North's nuclear aims but Beijing
says it is doing enough.
Chinese
President Xi Jinping gave a lavish welcome to Mr Trump in what has been called
a "state visit-plus".
Before his
visit, Mr Trump piled praise on Mr Xi, saying he was looking forward to meeting
the Chinese president after "his great political victory".
Mr Xi
recently consolidated his power at a Chinese Communist Party congress, a move
analysts say will make him less likely to reach compromise with Mr Trump.
How has
China greeted Mr Trump?
A red
carpet, military band and flag-waving children met Mr Trump and his wife
Melania when they arrived in Beijing.
By contrast,
when Barack Obama visited China during the final weeks of his presidency there
was no red carpet, in what was seen as a calculated snub.
Mr Trump and
First Lady Melania Trump then visited the Forbidden City, for centuries the
home of China's emperors, followed by afternoon tea.
Chinese
state media said Mr Trump showed Mr Xi a video of his granddaughter Arabella
singing in Mandarin, with Mr Xi describing the recital as worthy of an
"A+".
The Trumps,
along with Mr Xi and his wife, will dine inside the Forbidden City in what CNN
says is an unprecedented honour for a US president.
So the
world's first and second most powerful men have met in Beijing. But which one's
which?
Side by
side, as presidents Trump and Xi stood for photographs at Beijing's Forbidden
City, some might wonder.
Mr Trump is
seen as weakened at home, beset by scandal and a faltering agenda, and
disengaged abroad. Mr Xi is being hailed as the most powerful leader since
Chairman Mao, with a vision for Chinese leadership on the global stage.
And while
the US president comes here expecting much - help with North Korea, action to
reduce the trade deficit - China seems to be seeking little, except in one
broad sense.
State media
is talking about a "new chapter of history" based on a
"major-power relationship". It's not about first or second place any
more, it's about parity of esteem.
With a
"transactional" US president, less prone to talk about US values,
China senses that time may have come.
What did
Trump say about North Korea?
Hours
earlier, in the South Korean capital Seoul, Mr Trump described North Korea as
"a hell that no person deserves".
North
Korea's nuclear weapons programme has sparked international alarm, with
Pyongyang carrying out its biggest nuclear test yet in September.
In typically
stark language, Mr Trump warned the North: "Do not underestimate us. Do
not try us."
But there
were hints though he might be open to a deal, telling the North "we will
offer you a path for a better future".
Singling out
Russia and China, he urged "all responsible nations" to isolate the
North, and fully implement UN sanctions, downgrade diplomatic ties and sever
trade and technology ties.
"You
cannot support, you cannot supply, you cannot accept," he said.
China is
North Korea's largest trading partner and only major ally, but says it is
committed to the UN sanctions and argues its leverage has been overestimated.
Despite
having congratulated Mr Xi on his political ascendency, Mr Trump has been a
vocal critic over what he sees as unfair Chinese trade practices.
During his
presidential campaign, he called Beijing a currency manipulator and accused it
of stealing US jobs.
He is
expected to seek ways to reduce what he has called the "embarrassing"
US trade deficit with China.
US and
Chinese firms have already signed $9bn (£6.9bn) in deals as part of the visit.
There have
been questions over whether Mr Trump would use his favoured communications
platform Twitter while in China, where it is banned.
But a White
House official has said "the president will tweet whatever he wants".
Mr Trump is
in China as part of a five-nation tour of Asia. He has also visited Japan so
far and will go on to Vietnam and the Philippines.
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