North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is in China Wednesday for talks with his
Chinese counterpart, President Xi Jinping.The discussions were
described as cordial, and included talk of a second Kim-Trump summit,
expected to be held at some point in 2019.
Kim said that he intends to work toward making a deal at that new summit that the international community will welcome. He says the intention is to continue to work toward denuclearization and peace on the Korean Peninsula.
Kim was further quoted by Chinese media as saying that he hopes everyone
will take North Korea’s “reasonable concerns” seriously in future
talks. This is a clear reference to recent US efforts to ratchet up
sanctions.
President Xi appeared to back the talks, saying he hoped both sides
could meet each other half way. This is a key statement, because
President Trump has previously suggested that the Chinese are trying to
undermine the talks.
Yeah, if the US continues to expect negotiation to get everything and give almost nothing, China expecting both to meet each other halfway would undermine what the US is trying to do. What the US should do is give NK and China what they want: a peace declaration with de-escalation moves including major troop and weapons withdrawals. But that would degrade US positioning for the war with China the US intends to start.