Posted on : Nov.10,2017 15:54 KST Modified on : Nov.10,2017 16:11 KST

Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump laugh while standing with their backs to each other at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Nov. 9. (TASS/Yonhap News)

Trump and Xi struck a largely conciliatory tone during the US President’s visit to Beijing

US President Donald Trump scored some major achievements in economic and trade terms. Chinese President Xi Jinping affirmed his solid influence in Asia without making any major concessions. Coming on the heels of a lavish display of imperial pomp, the US-China summit on Nov. 9 at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People emphasized the two sides’ attempts to respect each other’s differences and seek common ground on North Korea’s nuclear program, trade, and other major issues.

In terms of the North Korean nuclear issue, the US and Chinese leaders agreed on the need to continue seeking a denuclearized Korean Peninsula and implement UN Security Council sanctions resolutions. Trump made reference to “complete and permanent denuclearization,” while Xi referred to China’s three main policies on the Korean Peninsula (denuclearization, peace/stability, and a resolution through dialogue and negotiation) and maintaining a nuclear non-proliferation system.

Trump said he and Xi had discussed a pledge to achieve the peninsula’s denuclearization and agreed not to retread previous failures. While he repeatedly thanked China for its trade and financial sanctions against the North, he also urged it to adopt additional measures.

“China can fix this problem quickly and easily,” he said. “I am calling on China and your great President to hopefully work on it very hard.”

While Xi did not mention additional sanctions beyond those in the UN Security Council resolutions, analysts speculated the two sides may have met in behind-the-scenes negotiations, with China accepting some of the US’s demands for additional sanctions – including the closure of North Korean accounts at Chinese banks – and the US acknowledging China’s role.

The biggest practical boost for Trump at the summit is seen as coming in the two sides’ trade imbalance, with the US recording a US$347 billion deficit last year. The two leaders announced the signing of an economic trade agreement worth US$253.5 billion.

“China’s development has created many jobs for the US. The signing of this agreement by businesspeople on both sides showed that there can be a ‘win-win’ for both sides,” Xi said.

Trump said after the summit that he did not “blame China” for the trade deficit.

No explicit references were made to the “recalibration” of US-China relations, which had been a focus of attention. Xi has previously called for a relationship on more equal terms, describing the current one as facing the “starting point for a new history.” Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post noted that the two sides “have disagreed over various issues, such as the South China Sea and the US’ role in Asia.” Xi and Trump agreed to cooperate on a response to terrorism in the Middle East and Afghanistan.

“Xi Jinping gave Trump a victory by moving preemptively to offer the economic ‘gift basket’ Trump wanted, and he’s working to bring North Korea to the negotiating table on the nuclear issue by cooperating with the US and giving the appearance of pressuring Pyongyang,” said Kim Heung-kyu, director of the Ajou University China Policy Institute.

“He wants to send a signal to [North Korean leader] Kim Jong-un that this is a different China from the past,” he said.

Kim also said that Xi “did proclaim a vision [for China] as a great power at the Party Congress, but he does not intend to challenge the US right now.”

“And with President Trump thinking about next year’s midterm elections, it was important for both sides to give the appearance of cooperation rather than conflict and collision.”

Stuck in the same boat, the two sides are increasingly learning to seek similarities and respect differences.

US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping pose with their wives for a commemorative photo at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Nov. 9. (Xinhua/Yonhap News)

By Kim Oi-hyun, Beijing correspondent and Park Min-hee, international editor

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]

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