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[webfact]

In Beijing, Trump presses China on North Korea and trade

By Steve Holland and Christian Shepherd

 

U.S. President Donald Trump and China's President Xi Jinping make joint statements at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, November 9, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

 

BEIJING (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump pressed China to do more on the North Korean nuclear issue on Thursday and said bilateral trade had been unfair to the United States, but praised President Xi Jinping's pledge that China would be more open to foreign firms.

 

On North Korea, Trump said "China can fix this problem quickly and easily", urging Beijing to cut financial links with North Korea and also calling on Russia to help.

 

Trump was speaking alongside Xi in the Chinese capital to announce the signing of about $250 billion in commercial deals between U.S. and Chinese firms, a display that some in the U.S. business community worry detracts from tackling deep-seated complaints about market access in China.

 

Xi said the Chinese economy would become increasingly open and transparent to foreign firms, including those from the United States, and welcomed U.S. companies to participate in his ambitious "Belt and Road" infrastructure-led initiative.

 

Trump made clear that he blamed his predecessors, not China, for the trade imbalance, and repeatedly praised Xi, calling him "a very special man".

 

"But we will make it fair and it will be tremendous for both of us," Trump said.

 

Xi smiled widely when Trump said he does not blame China for the deficit and also when Trump said Xi gets things done.

 

"Of course there are some frictions, but on the basis of win-win cooperation and fair competition we hope we can solve all these issues in a frank and consultative way," Xi said.

 

"Keeping opening up is our long-term strategy. We will never narrow or close our doors. We will further widen them," he said. China would also offer a more fair and transparent environment for foreign firms, including U.S. ones, Xi said.

 

MODEST PROGRESS

 

Trump is pressing China to tighten the screws further on North Korea and its development of nuclear weapons. At least modest progress is hoped for, although there are no immediate signs of a major breakthrough, a U.S. official said earlier.

 

Referring to Xi, Trump said: "I do believe there's a solution to that, as do you."

 

Xi reiterated that China would strive for the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula but offered no hint that China would change tack on North Korea, with which it fought side-by-side in the 1950-53 Korean war against U.S.-led forces.

 

"We are devoted to reaching a resolution to the Korean peninsula issue through dialogue and consultations," Xi said.

 

In a show of the importance China puts on Trump's first official visit, Thursday's welcoming ceremony outside Beijing's Great Hall of the People overlooking Tiananmen Square was broadcast live on state television - unprecedented treatment for a visiting leader.

 

Earlier on Thursday, Xi said he had a deep exchange of views with Trump and reached consensus on numerous issues of mutual concern.

 

"For China, cooperation is the only real choice, only win-win can lead to an even better future," he said.

 

Xi said China and the United States strengthened high-level dialogue on all fronts over the past year and boosted coordination on major international issues, such as the Korean peninsula and Afghanistan.

 

"Relations between China and the United States are now on a new historical starting point," Xi said.

 

Trump and Xi hit it off at their first meeting in April at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida and continued their "bromance" on Wednesday with an afternoon of sightseeing together with their wives. However, deep divisions persist over trade and North Korea.

 

And while Xi is riding high after consolidating power at a twice-a-decade Communist Party Congress last month, Trump comes to China saddled with low public approval ratings and dogged by investigations into Russian links to his election campaign.

 

'HORRIBLE' TRADE SURPLUS

 

Trump has ratcheted up his criticism of China's massive trade surplus with the United States - calling it "embarrassing" and "horrible" last week - and has accused Beijing of unfair trade practices.

 

For its part, China says U.S. restrictions on Chinese investments in the United States and on high-tech exports need to be addressed.

 

Several corporate chief executives were in Beijing as part of a delegation led by U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, with General Electric and semiconductor maker Qualcomm Inc among those announcing billions of dollars in sales to China. 

 

But Qualcomm's agreement to sell $12-billion worth of components to three Chinese mobile phone makers over three years is non-binding, and critics say such public announcements are sometimes more show than substance.

 

"This shows that we have a strong, vibrant bilateral economic relationship, and yet we still need to focus on levelling the playing field because U.S. companies continue to be disadvantaged doing business in China," said William Zarit, chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in China.

 

Trump railed against China's trade practices during the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign and threatened to take action once in office. But he has since held back on any major trade penalties, making clear he was doing so to give Beijing time to make progress reining in North Korea.

 

A U.S. official said both sides were "in sync" about wanting to minimise friction during the visit and recreate the positive tone of the April summit.

 

Trump was not expected to put much emphasis in his talks with Xi on thorny issues such as the disputed South China Sea and self-ruled Taiwan, claimed by China as its own, although the leaders' aides may deal with those matters privately, the official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

 

China has repeatedly pushed back at suggestions it should be doing more to rein in North Korea, which does about 90 percent of its trade with China, saying it is fully enforcing U.N. sanctions and that everyone has a responsibility to lower tension and get talks back on track.

 

(Additional reporting by Matt Spetalnick, Matthew Miller, Philip Wen and John Ruwitch; Writing by Ben Blanchard and Tony Munroe; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Paul Tait)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-11-09

[tonbridgebrit]

Mr Trump, I knew it, I knew that you would deliver when it matters most. Okay, below is a link regarding the deals that have been done by Trump in Beijing.

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/trumps-250-billion-china-miracle-060704722.html


Okay, quote from the article "Some huge deals were announced. Among them is a 20-year $83.7 billion investment by China Energy Investment Corp in shale gas developments and chemical manufacturing projects in West Virginia, a major energy producing state that voted heavily for Trump in the 2016 election.

"The massive size of this energy undertaking and level of collaboration between our two countries is unprecedented," West Virginia Secretary of Commerce H. Wood Thrasher said in a statement.

Yes, a deal worth billions of dollars and the collaboration between America and China is unprecedented. The article also talks about how Boeing are going to sell to China 300 Boeing for $37 billion. Trump really is the man who can do a deal.

 

[dunroaming]

I heard Trump's sycophantic speech in Beijing praising Xi and pleading with him to help him out over trade and North Korea.  I am sure that Trump will claim it was a wonderful success but in reality Xi will, as always do whatever he wants to.  One has to wonder what happened to Trumps tough stand on China?

[Srikcir]

19 hours ago, webfact said:

Trump said he does not blame China for the deficit

"We can’t continue to allow China to rape our country and that’s what they’re doing. It’s the greatest theft in the history of the world,” - Trump 2016

Did Xi give Trump a new coat as a gift for his visit - with a yellow stripe down the back?

[Srikcir]

16 hours ago, tonbridgebrit said:

Trump really is the man who can do a deal.

 

And make a bogus deal look real.

"But as is common for agreements unveiled on big state visits, there wasn't much in the way of detail. And a significant number of the deals were non-binding, meaning they could change or fall apart before the final version is signed."

http://money.cnn.com/2017/11/09/investing/china-trump-business-deals/index.html

 

Part of the art of a deal is to get a binding deal. But Trump's new Chinese "deals" are mostly showmanship for now. Meanwhile, there's been no mention of China relaxing or stopping regulations that hinder or prevent US open and free access to Chinese markets. But as Trump and Ivanka have already gotten their trademark applications approved by Xi last year, I'm sure US access is low on his agenda now.

[simple1]

17 hours ago, tonbridgebrit said:

Mr Trump, I knew it, I knew that you would deliver when it matters most. Okay, below is a link regarding the deals that have been done by Trump in Beijing.

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/trumps-250-billion-china-miracle-060704722.html


Okay, quote from the article "Some huge deals were announced. Among them is a 20-year $83.7 billion investment by China Energy Investment Corp in shale gas developments and chemical manufacturing projects in West Virginia, a major energy producing state that voted heavily for Trump in the 2016 election.

"The massive size of this energy undertaking and level of collaboration between our two countries is unprecedented," West Virginia Secretary of Commerce H. Wood Thrasher said in a statement.

Yes, a deal worth billions of dollars and the collaboration between America and China is unprecedented. The article also talks about how Boeing are going to sell to China 300 Boeing for $37 billion. Trump really is the man who can do a deal.

It's interesting the Trump Administration has given the nod to a MOU (NB: MOU)) for Chinese investment in a energy project - potentially others - in the US, whereas some countries have declined PRC investment in energy infrastructure/assets as a national security risk. 

 

More info for the other 'deals', but as Reuters noted "Whether those deals live up to the lofty price tag is another question altogether."

 

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-trump-asia-china-deals/trumps-250-billion-china-miracle-adds-gloss-to-off-kilter-trade-idUSKBN1D90L2?il=0

 

[ilostmypassword]

18 hours ago, tonbridgebrit said:

Mr Trump, I knew it, I knew that you would deliver when it matters most. Okay, below is a link regarding the deals that have been done by Trump in Beijing.

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/trumps-250-billion-china-miracle-060704722.html


Okay, quote from the article "Some huge deals were announced. Among them is a 20-year $83.7 billion investment by China Energy Investment Corp in shale gas developments and chemical manufacturing projects in West Virginia, a major energy producing state that voted heavily for Trump in the 2016 election.

"The massive size of this energy undertaking and level of collaboration between our two countries is unprecedented," West Virginia Secretary of Commerce H. Wood Thrasher said in a statement.

Yes, a deal worth billions of dollars and the collaboration between America and China is unprecedented. The article also talks about how Boeing are going to sell to China 300 Boeing for $37 billion. Trump really is the man who can do a deal.

 

Well, it's unlikely that Trump actually did the deal. That's not how this stuff works. But it is typical Presidential behavior to take credit for such things. Nothing particularly Trumpian about this.

[Stargeezr]

Well at least Trump did talk about NK to the  Chinese leader, I think that is more than the Canadian PM did when he chatted with China.

Geezer

[Srikcir]

33 minutes ago, Stargrazer9889 said:

Well at least Trump did talk about NK to the  Chinese leader, I think that is more than the Canadian PM did when he chatted with China.

Geezer

Canada had two face-to-face meetings with North Korea in August 2017 whose talks included the issue of North Korea's nuclear program - that's two more than the US who has yet to have any such talks. http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/north-korea-canada-1.4244177

In economic and military terms the super power USA has far more leverage with China than Canada. In 2016 Canada had a trade deficit with China of about $12billion (8% of its economy) compared to the US of about $347billion with a debt of $1.2 trillion as of August 2017. Canada's global firepower is nonexistent compared to the US.

 

As such I would expect Trump to have some serious, in-depth talks with the Chinese regarding North Korea than would Canada. But instead Trump makes tweets and can't blame China for acting in its own benefit.

 

[Credo]

A huge amount of the work toward any agreement is done by the Dept. of State.    Much of it is ongoing and prior to a high level meeting, the preliminary groundwork is laid.   This means that the US can get the best deal possible on many, many fronts and that the meeting is a formality with some serious negotiation on major points.   

 

With a stripped down Dept. of State, the US is at a distinct disadvantage.   

 

Trump will come back with a few crumbs, but the gold medal will go to the Chinese.   

[Skywalker69]

Experts: Americans Would Begin to Starve to Death In 3 Days If North Korea Launched EMP Attack [VIDEO]

 

North Korea continues to be a threat to the United States, one that no one seems to know how to get rid of. And in the meantime, Kim Jong Un continues to behave more and more aggressively. One specific threat that experts fear is an electromagnetic pulse, or EMP, attack. And one expert in particular warns that it could have catastrophic consequences.

 

An EMP shock takes place when a nuclear bomb is detonated above the earth’s atmosphere, destroying all electronics that are not properly shielded. This is exactly what North Korea has threatened against the United States. Peter Pry, a nuclear strategist, is sending out a warning of what we can expect if this were to take place.

 

http://rankpolitics.com/experts-americans-begin-starve-death-3-days-north-korea-launched-emp-attack-video/