Xi Jinping urges Donald Trump to seek settlement of trade disputes

Hong Kong: Chinese leader Xi Jinping told US President Donald Trump that the two sides must work together to find solutions to trade and economic disputes, state media reported.

The two leaders spoke at Trump’s request, the state-run China Central Television said Tuesday. The Chinese president urged both sides to take a “constructive approach” and work “properly” to settle disputes and open up each other’s markets, CCTV said.

After criticizing China during the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump repeatedly praised Xi during his first year in office and the pair have had frequent conversations. Relations have shown signs of strain in recent months, however, as China resists harsher sanctions on North Korea and Trump’s calls for trade concessions.

China and US should respect each other’s core interests and major concerns to maintain relations, Xi said, according to CCTV. The two sides must also “keep up senior-level and other levels of exchanges,” he said.

Xi noted “positive changes” in efforts to get North Korea resume negotiations over its nuclear weapons program. “Parties concerned should make joint effort to sustain this hard-earned momentum of easing-up,” Xi said, arguing it was necessary to create the conditions to resume negotiations. Bloomberg