Face to face again, Xi and Trump paper over differences on North Korea
Beijing and Washington talk up leaders’ second meeting but diplomatic observers say it failed to bridge any of their huge divides
US President Donald Trump maintained his rapport with his Chinese counterpart at their second face-to-face meeting on the weekend, despite glaring differences on how to keep North Korea on a leash, analysts said.
Meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, Trump and President Xi Jinping tried hard to avoid a showdown by papering over bilateral tensions from a raft of geopolitical challenges, from Pyongyang’s provocations to Taiwan and maritime disputes.
Both governments spoke highly of the two leaders’ second encounter on Saturday, which at less than an hour was much shorter than their first meeting in Florida in April or Trump’s two-hour meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin a day before.
Trump described Xi as “a friend” and tweeted on his way back to Washington early Sunday morning about his “excellent meeting” with the Chinese leader on trade and North Korea.
Foreign Minister Wang Yi said both leaders agreed to maintain healthy and stable bilateral ties, “deepen mutually beneficial cooperation and properly manage their differences and sensitive issues”.