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North Korea a top priority for Sino-US ties, says new US ambassador to China

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Terry Branstad says stopping the threat posed by North Korea will be a top priority. Photo: AFP

The new US ambassador to China has said that stopping the threat posed by North Korea will be a top priority, along with resolving the US-China trade imbalance, according to a video message to the Chinese people released on Monday.

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Terry Branstad, a former Iowa governor, has been described by Beijing as an “old friend” of China. Branstad was confirmed on May 24 as President Donald Trump’s new ambassador to China but his arrival date has yet to be announced.

“Resolving the bilateral trade imbalance, stopping the North Korea threat, and expanding people-to-people ties will be my top priorities,” Branstad said in the video message, which was released on a popular Chinese video-streaming platform.

Trump has placed high hopes on China and its president, Xi Jinping, exerting greater influence on North Korea, although he said last week Chinese efforts to rein in the reclusive North’s nuclear and missile programmes had failed.

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China’s foreign ministry regularly says that Beijing is doing all that it can with regard to North Korea by implementing United Nations Security Council sanctions, while also pushing for greater dialogue to reduce tensions.

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