Trump hailed the talks and termed them ‘progressive, Xi accused the U.S. of interfering in its internal matter.
The President of United States (U.S.) – Donald Trump and President of People’s Republic of China – Xi Jinping have spoken over phone on Friday, i.e., December 201, 2019 where they discussed the trade deal, Hong Kong mass unrest and denuclearisation deal with North Korea.
However, both Trump and Xi shared a different opinion of the conversation. While Trump hailed the talks and termed them ‘progressive, Xi accused the U.S. of interfering in its internal matter.
Post the call, Trump also confirmed that China has started buying large scale of agricultural items from the U.S.
Taking to twitter, Trump tweeted, “Had a very good talk with President Xi of China concerning our giant Trade Deal. China has already started large scale purchase of agricultural product & more. Formal signing being arranged. Also talked about North Korea, where we are working with China, & Hong Kong (progress!).”
Had a very good talk with President Xi of China concerning our giant Trade Deal. China has already started large scale purchaes of agricultural product & more. Formal signing being arranged. Also talked about North Korea, where we are working with China, & Hong Kong (progress!).
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 20, 2019
The 2 leaders held the talks after the envoys of both the nations finalised the ‘Phase 1’ of the trade deal. The two sides agreed to leave tougher issues for “Phase 2” and even tougher decisions for “Phase 3” pacts.
China’s Xinhua news agency quoted that Xi expressed deep concerns over the negative words and news revolving around Hong Kong and Xinjiang. The U.S. has accused China of continued mass detention of religious and ethnic minorities in far Western region of Xinjiang in China. Upto 2 million Muslim Uyghurs and other minority groups are detained in these detention camps, which are working to eradicate their language and cultural heritage.
Xi told Trump that this has harmed China’s interests and undermined mutual trust and cooperation between the two sides. The U.S. has called for the closure of mass detention camps in Xinjiang and expressed concern about the treatment of demonstrators in Hong Kong.
On December 3, 2019, U.S. House of Representatives has voted to approve Uyghur Intervention and Global Humanitarian Unified Response (UIGHUR) Act of 2019. The Act, if enacted, will allow the U.S. to impose sanctions against Chinese Officials for abusing human rights in far Western Region of Xinjiang in China. Prior to this, on November 27, 2019, Trump had signed the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019 (HKHRDA) which refers to a U.S. Federal Law that allows U.S. to impose sanctions against Chinese and Hong Kong officials for abusing human rights in Hong Kong.
All these issues have not gone down well with Xi. After the call, Xi informed Xinhua that he hoped Trump would implement “the important consensus” reached during their meetings and phone calls and “pay close attention to and attach importance to China’s concerns, and prevent the interference of bilateral relations and the important agenda.”
Separately, another important talk point was the escalating tensions between North Korea and U.S.
The Supreme Leader of North Korea – Kim Jong Un had earlier announced that he would be sending a ‘Christmas gift’ to Trump. This is seen more as a threat. The U.S. Officials have interpreted this to mean either a nuclear weapons test or a ballistic missile test. Since May 2019, North Korea has carried out 13 ballistic missile launches to pressurise U.S. It has also given a deadline of December 31, 2019 to U.S. to make concessions on sanctions or else it would be forced to choose an unspecified “new path”.
For the records, The Supreme Leader of North Korea – Kim Jong Un and President of U.S. – Donald Trump have met thrice since 2018 but no deal has been finalised. In a historic move, Kim Jong-un had also met Donald Trump on June 30, 2019 at Panmunjom, the ‘truce village’ on the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ), which separates North and South Korea. During the meeting, both the leaders had agreed to resume denuclearisation talks which were halted after the failed meeting at Hanoi in Vietnam in February 2019. But nothing concrete has happened since that meeting. Donald Trump is the first sitting U.S. President to set foot in North Korea.
Besides, China and Russia have proposed a Draft Resolution to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to lift a ban on North Korea exporting statues, seafood and textiles. The China-Russia Draft Resolution is aimed at deescalating the tensions between United States (U.S.) and North Korea.
The U.S. Department of State, in response, said the UNSC should not be considering “premature sanctions relief” for North Korea as it is threatening to conduct an escalated provocation, refusing to meet to discuss denuclearisation.
Xi has also stressed to Trump that all parties need to seek a political settlement on the North Korean issue and that “all parties should meet each other halfway and maintain the momentum of easing dialogue, which serves the common interests of all parties.”
