U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi expressed concerns about the actions of each other’s governments during a meeting Monday in Beijing that also included the more customary diplomatic calls for cooperation.
Wang said the United States has been escalating trade tensions between the two sides and dealt with Taiwan in a way China finds objectionable. He said those actions have affected trust between the U.S. and China and that the United States should stop “this kind of mistaken action.”
Pompeo responded that the United States has its own concerns about China’s actions, and that he looked forward to discussing them during Monday’s talks.
The Beijing visit comes days after U.S. Vice President Mike Pence delivered a blistering speech accusing China of military aggression, commercial theft, rising human rights violations, and electoral intervention against Trump.
South Korea visit
Pompeo traveled to China from South Korea where he said he and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un “refined options for the location and date” for the “upcoming second summit” between Kim and President Donald Trump. The two met for the first time in Singapore in June.
State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said Sunday, “Secretary Pompeo and Chairman Kim also agreed to instruct their respective working-level teams to meet soon to intensify discussions on the key remaining issues to deliver on the Singapore Summit Joint Statement.”
She added Trump “looks forward to continuing to build upon the trust established with Chairman Kim in Singapore”.
The announcement Sunday came shortly after Pompeo arrived in Seoul, following his fourth visit to North Korea, where he met with Kim.
South Korean President Moon Jae-In thanked Pompeo for his visit and expressed his well-wishes for the potential upcoming summit.
Trump-Kim meeting
Trump tweeted earlier Sunday Kim and Pompeo “had a good meeting”.
“Progress made on Singapore Summit Agreements! I look forward to seeing Chairman Kim again, in the near future,” he wrote.
Following their meeting a day earlier, Kim was heard saying to the top U.S. diplomat, “I am really pleased for this opportunity. After having a nice meeting, we can enjoy a meal together.”
Pompeo tweeted after the meeting, “Had a good trip to #Pyongyang to meet with Chairman Kim. We continue to make progress on agreements made at Singapore Summit. Thanks for hosting me and my team @StateDept”.
Pompeo had said the goal of his meeting with North Korea was “to make sure we understand what each side is truly trying to achieve … and how we can deliver against the commitments that were made” in Singapore where Kim and Trump held their historic summit earlier this year.
Japan
Saturday, Pompeo met with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Foreign Minister Taro Kono about North Korea.
Pompeo said it is important for the two allies to have a “fully coordinated, unified view of how to proceed, which will be what is needed if we are going to be successful on denuclearizing North Korea.”
Abe said he thinks their talks demonstrate to the world the alliance between Japan and the United States is “more robust than ever.”
State Department correspondent Nike Ching contributed to this report.
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