Update | Xi urges restraint from Trump in phone call on North Korea crisis
Beijing could be running out of options to rein in its neighbour, analyst says
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday urged his US counterpart to avoid “words and deeds” that could worsen tensions on the Korean peninsula, as some observers suggested that Beijing had largely exhausted its leverage to rein in its wayward neighbour.
In a phone call with US President Donald Trump, Xi also called on “relevant parties to maintain restraint” and to “persist in the general direction of dialogue, negotiations and a political settlement”, according to Chinese official media.
The White House said both presidents agreed North Korea must stop “provocative and escalatory behaviour”.
Beijing has voiced alarm at the war of words between Washington and Pyongyang, which included a warning from Trump that military solutions were now “locked and loaded” should North Korea “act unwisely”.
Renmin University international relations professor Shi Yinhong said that like North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, Trump was using threats of military strikes to make his point. The tension was likely to further escalate with another round of large-scale joint drills between the United States and South Korea due later this month, he said.
Shi said it was time for China to drop “the nice words” and send Trump a clear and strong message against war.
Beijing should also declare that it would not accept any demands beyond the UN Security Council sanctions adopted earlier this month, he said.