Jump to content








Trump, China's top diplomat, discuss cooperation, possible Xi meeting


webfact

Recommended Posts

Trump, China's top diplomat, discuss cooperation, possible Xi meeting

By Steve Holland and David Brunnstrom

REUTERS

 

r14.jpg

FILE PHOTO - Chinese State Councillor Yang Jiechi delivers a speech at the Reception for the 45th Anniversary of the Restoration of the Lawful Seat of the People's Republic of China in the United Nations, at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, China, October 25, 2016. REUTERS/Kenzaburo Fukuhara/Pool/File Photo

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump, who has attacked China on issues from trade to the South China Sea, held his first face-to-face talks with a member of the Chinese leadership on Monday, and the White House said it was a chance to discuss shared security interests and a possible meeting with President Xi Jinping.

 

State Councilor Yang Jiechi, China's top diplomat, met Trump briefly after talks with the new U.S. National Security adviser, H.R. McMaster, Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, and White House chief strategist Steve Bannon.

 

A senior U.S. administration official said discussions included bilateral cooperation and the possibility of arranging a meeting between Trump and Xi, but no date was set.

 

The official said the meeting with Trump lasted five to seven minutes.

 

White House spokesman Sean Spicer called it "an opportunity to say 'hi' to the president" before Yang left.

 

"This was an opportunity to begin that conversation and talk to them on shared interests of national security," he said at a regular news briefing.

 

China's Foreign Ministry cited Yang as telling Trump that China was willing to enhance exchanges with the United States at all levels, expand coordination and cooperation, and respect each others' core interests and major concerns.

 

"Ensuring the steady and healthy development of China-U.S. ties will surely benefit both peoples and the world as a whole," the ministry paraphrased Yang as saying.

 

Yang, who outranks China's foreign minister, was the first top Chinese official to visit the White House since Trump took office on Jan. 20.

 

His visit followed a phone call between Yang and U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson last week, during which the two affirmed the importance of a constructive U.S.-China relationship.

 

It was the latest step by the world's two largest economies to try to put relations back on an even keel after a rocky start following Trump's election victory.

 

Trump has been a strong critic of Beijing, accusing China of unfair trade policies, criticizing its island building in the strategic South China Sea, and accusing it of not doing enough to constrain its neighbor, North Korea.

 

Trump incensed Beijing in December by talking to the president of Taiwan and saying the United States did not have to stick to the "one China" policy, under which Washington acknowledges the Chinese position that there is only one China, of which Taiwan is a part.

 

Trump later agreed in a phone call with Xi to honor the "one China" policy in a diplomatic boost for Beijing, which vehemently opposes criticism of its claim to self-ruled Taiwan.

 

In an interview with Reuters on Thursday, Trump pressed China to do more to rein in North Korea's nuclear and missile programs, saying Beijing could resolve the issue "very easily if it wanted to."

 

China dismissed Trump's remarks, saying on Friday the crux of the matter was a dispute between Washington and Pyongyang. Beijing has repeatedly called for a return to negotiations between Pyongyang and world powers.

 

As Yang held talks at the White House, senior officials from the United States, Japan and South Korea met at the State Department to discuss additional measures to choke off funding to North Korea's weapons program.

 

"The officials considered other possible measures under national authorities, including means to restrict further the revenue sources for North Korea's weapons programs, particularly illicit activities," they said in a joint statement.

 

They also agreed that North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile programs directly threatened their security and "strong international pressure" was needed to push back at Pyongyang, the statement said.

 

Plans for renewed contacts with North Korea in the United States were canceled last week after the U.S. State Department denied a visa for the top envoy from Pyongyang, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday.

 

(Reporting by Steve Holland, David Brunnstrom, Matt Spetalnick and Washington Newsroom, and Ben Blanchard in Beijing; Editing by Andrew Hay and Jonathan Oatis)

 
reuters_logo.jpg
-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-02-28
Link to comment
Share on other sites


 

China has granted preliminary approval for 38 new Trump trademarks

Dan Plane, a director at Simone IP Services, a Hong Kong intellectual-property consultancy, said he had never seen so many applications approved so quickly. "For all these marks to sail through so quickly and cleanly, with no similar marks, no identical marks, no issues with specifications — boy, it's weird," he said.

The trademarks are for businesses including branded spas, massage parlors, golf clubs, hotels, insurance, finance and real-estate companies, retail shops, restaurants, bars, and private bodyguard and escort services.

http://www.businessinsider.com/ap-china-grants-preliminary-approval-to-38-new-trump-trademarks-2017-3

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...