Washington, Apr 8 (IANS): US President Donald Trump and his visiting Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping agreed to work with the international community to achieve a peaceful solution to the North Korea nuclear threat, according to a White House statement.
Following a second day of bilateral talks, press secretary Sean Spicer on Friday said both China and the US agreed to increase cooperation between the two superpowers to "convince North Korea to peacefully resolve the issue and dismantle its illegal nuclear and missile programmes" and to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons in the Korean peninsula, Politico news reported.
President Xi arrived at Trump's Mar-a-Lago Florida resort on Thursday.
According to Spicer, Xi and Trump "reaffirmed their commitment to a denuclearized Korean peninsula, and committed to fully implement UN Security Council resolutions."
During an interview with the Financial Times on Sunday, Trump warned that if China was unwilling to collaborate on North Korea, the US would be willing to go it alone.
"China will either decide to help us with North Korea or they won't," he said, adding "If they do, that will be very good for China, and if they don't, it won't be good for anyone."
The White House said Trump also stressed to Xi the importance of creating "reciprocal market access" that did not disadvantage American workers. Trump repeatedly bashed China on the campaign trail and upon taking office, blaming it for the loss of American jobs, reports Politico news.
At Mar-a-Lago on Friday, Trump urged China to take steps to "level the playing field for American workers," according to the White House statement.
"President Trump noted the challenges caused by Chinese government intervention in its economy and raised serious concerns about the impact of China's industrial, agricultural, technology, and cyber policies on US jobs and exports," it said.
Xi and Trump also discussed China's increased militarization in the South China Sea, with President Trump urging the Chinese to adhere to international norms.
Trump also "noted the importance of protecting human rights and other values deeply held by Americans," the statement added.