Trump China visit: US leader strikes warmer tone with Xi Jinping
US President Donald Trump has lavished praise on Chinese leader Xi Jinping, a marked contrast to his previous criticism of China on the flashpoint issues of North Korea and trade.
But he also urged Mr Xi to “work very hard” on persuading North Korea to denuclearise.
On China’s trade surplus, Mr Trump surprised many when he said he did “not blame China” for “taking advantage”.
China has said it will lower market entry barriers to some sectors.
The US president was speaking in Beijing while on a state visit.
He is in the Chinese capital as part of his five-nation tour of Asia. The two leaders held talks earlier on Thursday after a grand welcome for Mr Trump.
China will further lower market entry barriers to its banking, insurance, and securities industries and also gradually reduce vehicle tariffs, a Chinese foreign ministry statement said.
Deals worth $250bn (£190bn) have also been annunced, although it is unclear how much of that figure is past deals being re-announced or simply the potential for future deals.
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Mr Trump, together with Mr Xi, gave speeches twice on Thursday. These are the most striking highlights:
Trump tried to cajole Xi on Pyongyang
Discussion on how to deal with North Korea’s threats to the region has dominated Mr Trump’s agenda, and China is Pyongyang’s main economic supporter.
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Offering warm encouragement on Thursday, Mr Trump said China “can fix this problem easily and quickly”, in reference to North Korea’s nuclear programme.
He added: “I am calling on [Mr Xi] to work very hard. I know one thing about your president. If he works on it hard, it’ll get done.”
He then thanked Mr Xi several times for efforts such as restricting trade with Pyongyang.
Mr Xi, for his part, said both sides would “continue to work towards” fully implementing UN sanctions and “enduring peace” on the Korean peninsula.
Mr Trump has previously criticised China for not doing enough to pressure North Korea, and tweeted in July that Beijing was doing “NOTHING for us with North Korea, just talk”.
Just before his arrival in Beijing he urged China to sever ties with the North. Beijing has consistently said it is doing all it can.
He swerved away from blaming China for the trade deficit
“I don’t blame China – after all, who can blame a country for taking advantage of another country for the benefit of its citizens… I give China great credit,” said Mr Trump while addressing a room of business leaders.
Instead, the US leader said previous US administrations were responsible for what he called “a very unfair and one-sided” trade relationship with China.
