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China Oblivious to North Korea's Bark 04-03-17
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President Xi and Trump's First Big Foreign Policy Test
Trump's First 100 Days: Kushner's surprise visit to Iraq, and a potential Hatch Act violation. 5:00 AM, APR 03, 2017 | By MICHAEL WARREN THE WEEKLY STANDARD President Donald Trump has three big meetings this week with important world leaders. The first two come from the Middle East. On Monday, Trump will meet for several hours with Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi at the White House, followed by a Wednesday meeting with King Abdullah II of Jordan. Following that is the most important: a summit with Chinese president Xi Jinping on Thursday. Throughout his campaign, Trump marketed himself as a "tough" dealer with China, particularly on trade. There's been little from the Trump administration on its broad Pacific policy, in which China plays a key role. In his young presidency, Trump has backed off hawkish diplomatic talk regarding Taiwan, and his secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, has been accused of parroting talking points favored by Beijing. The president's been untested on any major trade issues so far, and the threat of a weaponized nuclear program in North Korea is growing. Needless to say there's a lot hanging in the balance with respect to China, and Thursday's meeting with Xi may tell us a lot about how hard the Trump administration really is willing to push when it comes to trade, national security, and diplomacy. READ MORE AT THE WEEKLY STANDARD |
Just released! Fine Giclee prints -signed & numbered by Michael P. Ramirez. Tolerance and Free Speech, Capone's Vault limited to just 25. For Love of Country is limited to 100. Prints are priced at $200 and will be accompanied with a certificate of authenticity from the artist.
For Love of Country
Tolerance and Free Speech
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Trump says US can tackle North Korea's nukes alone if China doesn't help
He said that trade was the incentive for China to work with the United States AP | PTI | Potomac Falls (US) April 3, 2017 Last Updated at 08:02 IST President Donald Trump says that the United States is prepared to act alone if China does not take a tougher stand against North Korea's nuclear programme. Trump's comments in an interview with the Financial Times come just days before he is set to host Chinese President Xi Jinping at his Mar-a-Lago estate in South Florida. The two are expected to discuss a number of issues, including North Korea, trade and territorial disputes in the South China Sea, during their meeting on Thursday and Friday. "Yes, we will talk about North Korea," Trump told the newspaper for a story that appeared on Sunday on its website. "And China has great influence over North Korea. And China will either decide to help us with North Korea, or they won't. And if they do that will be very good for China, and if they don't it won't be good for anyone," said Trump. Trump said trade was the incentive for China to work with the United States. Still, he said the United States could "totally" handle the situation in North Korea without China's help. Asked how he would tackle North Korea, Trump said: "I'm not going to tell you. You know, I am not the United States of the past where we tell you where we are going to hit in the Middle East." While China provides diplomatic and economic support to its neighbour, it claims that its influence over Kim Jong Un's government is limited. read more |
China Ignores Trump's Twitter Barb Ahead of First Xi Meeting
Ting Shi Toluse Olorunnipa April 1, 2017, 12:42 amMarch 30, 2017(Bloomberg) -- China ignored a Twitter outburst from Donald Trump one week before his first meeting with Xi Jinping, calling the event a “new starting point” for ties between the world’s biggest economies. Foreign ministry officials deflected questions about Trump’s latest China criticism at a briefing in Beijing on Friday to discuss the April 6-7 summit at his Mar-a-Lago club, in Palm Beach, Florida. The news conference came just two hours after Trump took to Twitter to blame the country for U.S. trade deficits and job losses, saying the meeting “will be a very difficult one.” read more |
Tillerson presses for Chinese-US co-operation over North Korea
01.04.2017 Madeline Patrick NORMANGEE STAR
“We also exchanged views and I think we share a common view in the sense that tensions in the peninsula are quite high right now, and that things have reached a rather unsafe level”, US Secretary Rex Tillerson said at a press conference after meeting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing.
On Sunday, Tillerson will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who’s expected to meet with Trump next month. Meanwhile, China blamed the US for further putting fuel to the hostility of the volatile region.
The US and China agreed on Saturday that tension on the Korean peninsula has reached unsafe levels and pledged to do everything possible to prevent a conflict in the region.
China and the United States should do more to coordinate on major global and regional affairs, Wang said, calling for closer communication under the multilateral framework.
“The nuclear force of (North Korea) is the treasured sword of justice and the most reliable war deterrence to defend the socialist motherland and the life of its people”, the official Korean Central News Agency quoted the spokesman as saying.
Tillerson was also in Beijing to iron out the details of a tentative summit between Presidents Trump and Xi in Florida in April.
Previous efforts to offer carrot-and-stick diplomacy to North Korea have failed, beginning with a 1994 deal under which Pyongyang would have received aid and two proliferation-resistant nuclear power plants in return for freezing and eventually dismantling its nuclear weapons program.
It staged its two latest nuclear tests a year ago and recently fired off missiles which it described as practice for an attack on United States bases in Japan. Recently, the nation also had missile launches.
Experts believe that China is reluctant to put harsh pressure on the unpredictability of North Korea. read more
It was not clear whether Xi and Tillerson discussed North Korea.
Wang, however, chided Tillerson over his recent tough talk, saying “we hope all parties, including our friends from the United States, can size up the situation in a cool-headed” fashion. Additionally, China denounced the fact that the USA deployed an anti-missile system in South Korea. In a rare and hastily called press conference Thursday, Pak Myong Ho, the chargé d’affaires at the North Korean embassy in Beijing, also rebuffed Wang’s proposal. In spite of the continuous diplomatic negotiations, North Korea remained deaf to the pleas of stopping its nuclear development.
01.04.2017 Madeline Patrick NORMANGEE STAR
“We also exchanged views and I think we share a common view in the sense that tensions in the peninsula are quite high right now, and that things have reached a rather unsafe level”, US Secretary Rex Tillerson said at a press conference after meeting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing.
On Sunday, Tillerson will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who’s expected to meet with Trump next month. Meanwhile, China blamed the US for further putting fuel to the hostility of the volatile region.
The US and China agreed on Saturday that tension on the Korean peninsula has reached unsafe levels and pledged to do everything possible to prevent a conflict in the region.
China and the United States should do more to coordinate on major global and regional affairs, Wang said, calling for closer communication under the multilateral framework.
“The nuclear force of (North Korea) is the treasured sword of justice and the most reliable war deterrence to defend the socialist motherland and the life of its people”, the official Korean Central News Agency quoted the spokesman as saying.
Tillerson was also in Beijing to iron out the details of a tentative summit between Presidents Trump and Xi in Florida in April.
Previous efforts to offer carrot-and-stick diplomacy to North Korea have failed, beginning with a 1994 deal under which Pyongyang would have received aid and two proliferation-resistant nuclear power plants in return for freezing and eventually dismantling its nuclear weapons program.
It staged its two latest nuclear tests a year ago and recently fired off missiles which it described as practice for an attack on United States bases in Japan. Recently, the nation also had missile launches.
Experts believe that China is reluctant to put harsh pressure on the unpredictability of North Korea. read more
It was not clear whether Xi and Tillerson discussed North Korea.
Wang, however, chided Tillerson over his recent tough talk, saying “we hope all parties, including our friends from the United States, can size up the situation in a cool-headed” fashion. Additionally, China denounced the fact that the USA deployed an anti-missile system in South Korea. In a rare and hastily called press conference Thursday, Pak Myong Ho, the chargé d’affaires at the North Korean embassy in Beijing, also rebuffed Wang’s proposal. In spite of the continuous diplomatic negotiations, North Korea remained deaf to the pleas of stopping its nuclear development.