Trump Heaps Praise on Xi Jinping and Blames Predecessors for Trade Gaps

Trump Heaps Praise on Xi Jinping and Blames Predecessors for Trade Gaps

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BEIJING — President Trump heaped praise on President Xi Jinping of China on Thursday, saying he was confident China would help defuse the threat from North Korea and reduce its trade deficits with the United States, which he blamed on his own predecessors, not the Chinese.
Mr. Trump, speaking in Beijing, called on Mr. Xi to redouble Chinese pressure on the North over its nuclear and missile programs, declaring, “We have it in our power to liberate the world” from the North Korean “menace.”
While the president also vowed to redress chronic trade imbalances, he framed them as a failure of American policy, even saluting Mr. Xi for leading a country that had left the United States “so far behind” and saying he could not blame the Chinese for taking advantage of Americans.
Mr. Trump did call on China to open up its market, but he came to Beijing without any specific proposals for doing so, preferring to celebrate a slew of American investment deals with Chinese companies, which the two sides claimed were worth more than $250 billion.
As he sat down with Mr. Xi in the Great Hall of the People, Mr. Trump instead kept the focus on personal rapport. He spoke of Mr. Xi as a friend with whom he had “great chemistry,” marveling at the hospitality Mr. Xi had shown him, which included a full-dress military parade in Tiananmen Square and a sunset tour of the Forbidden City.
“You’re a very special man,” Mr. Trump told Mr. Xi in joint statements made before reporters at which they did not take questions.

Congratulating Mr. Xi on his consolidation of power at a recent Communist Party congress, Mr. Trump said, “Perhaps now more than ever we have an opportunity to strengthen our relationship.”
Mr. Xi did not return the favor. He made no reference to the first anniversary Wednesday of Mr. Trump’s election victory — as the leaders of Japan and South Korea did — and instead stuck largely to a familiar script in which he said China and the United States could peacefully coexist if they respected each other’s different political systems.
“I told the president that the Pacific is big enough to accommodate both China and the United States,” Mr. Xi said. Earlier, he said the “China-U.S. relationship now stands at a new starting point.”
Mr. Xi agreed with Mr. Trump on the need to eliminate North Korea’s nuclear arsenal. He said China and the United States should strictly enforce United Nations Security Council sanctions against Pyongyang, but did not announce additional Chinese measures. The Trump administration is pressing China to cut off oil shipments, close down North Korean bank accounts, and send home tens of thousands of North Koreans who work in China.
The meeting came as North Korea is striving to master the technology of developing nuclear-tipped missiles that can hit the continental United States. But Pyongyang has also not conducted a nuclear test in nearly two months, which some analysts see as providing a diplomatic opening.
On Saturday, the United States Navy is to conduct exercises in the Western Pacific with three aircraft carrier groups, carrying out large-scale naval maneuvers that are likely to alarm the North Korean government.
In his meeting with Mr. Xi, Mr. Trump steered clear of any mention of human-rights abuses in China, though he reaffirmed the United States’ interest in protecting the rule of law and the rights of individuals.
Still, Mr. Trump appeared satisfied with the outcome.
“A great responsibility has been placed on our shoulders,” he said, looking over at the Chinese leader. “It is truly a great responsibility.”

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