FOLLOWING his scheduled visit to the Philippines, United States President Donald Trump will likely make a stop to China this coming November.
A Reuters report on Tuesday, September 12 cited a U.S. official confirming Trump’s visit to Beijing.
Trump is set to attend the U.S.-ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) summit and the East Asia summit in the Philippines in November. The U.S. president is also expected to later attend the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Vietnam.
In April, Chinese President Xi Jinping invited Trump to pay a state visit to Beijing when the two leaders met for the first time in Palm Beach, Florida. They also met on the sidelines of the G20 summit in July.
Trump’s possible trip to China in November will come amid tensions over North Korea’s nuclear tests.
The U.S. leader has been urging China to exert more pressure on North Korea, saying it could easily stop the latter’s nuclear advancement.
On Monday, September 11, the United Nations (UN) Security Council unanimously passed a resolution imposing new sanctions on North Korea just a week after the latter carried out its sixth and largest nuclear test.
The resolution, drafted by U.S., requires UN member states to cap North Korea’s crude oil imports, ban textile exports—Pyongyang’s second largest export after coal and other minerals in 2016—and end additional overseas laborer contracts, among others.
“Today, we are saying the world will never accept a nuclear armed North Korea, and today the Security Council is saying that if the North Korean regime does not halt its nuclear program, we will act to stop it ourselves,” U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said following the vote Monday.
Crediting a “strong relationship” between Trump and Xi for the successful resolution negotiations, Haley added: “If it agrees to stop its nuclear program, it can reclaim its future … if North Korea continues its dangerous path, we will continue with further pressure.”