The Trump administration issued an ultimatum on the matter of North Korea to China, that if they fail to put pressure on the tyrannical regime – the US will act alone.
“Well, if China is not going to solve North Korea, we will,” the president said in an interview with the Financial Times that has alarmed experts on the region.
When Trump was further questioned on how he would deal with the ongoing crisis, he stated: “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.”
The United States will soon host the Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday and Friday this week, and it promises to be an interesting meeting, given the fact that China just publicly stated that they want to replace the United States as the leading World Superpower.
Trump said he had “great respect” for Xi and “great respect for China”, adding: “I would not be at all surprised if we did something that would be very dramatic and good for both countries and I hope so.”
On North Korea, he said: “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.”
Asked what might motivate China to help, Trump said: “I think trade is the incentive. It is all about trade.”
Christopher Hill, the former US ambassador to South Korea who led the six-party talks on dealing with North Korea’s nuclear program, warned Trump against any unilateral action towards Pyongyang.
“The options for solving it on our own are not very attractive and they often flow to the military side, which needless to say is fraught with danger,” Hill told BBC Radio 4’s Today program.
North Korea is expected to hold yet another round of Nuclear Missile tests, and the test could end up coinciding with China’s Xi Jinping’s arrival in the USA – according to the Guardian.
The timing of China’s arrival in the US will also coincide with a historical date, 100 years ago on Thursday, April 6th, 2017 the United States entered World War One on April 6th, 1917.
The US and China are expected to hold talks and cover topics that range from the crisis unfolding with North Korea, trade, and the South China Sea dispute.