Mike Pompeo and his Chinese counterpart exchange harsh words


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The visit of Mr. Pompeo did not result in a meeting with the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, which seems to be another sign of dissatisfaction on the part of the Chinese. The State Secretary met with Xi during his last visit to Beijing in June.

Last week, US officials said they were looking for "direction," a phrase commonly used to refer to Xi. A notional schedule published during the visit of Mr. Pompeo provided for a meeting with him.

But Chinese analysts said it would be highly unlikely that Xi would meet with a US official, given the tense relationship and direct speech of Mr. Pence. Instead of giving a hard message to Xi, State Councilor Yang Jiechi would do so, Chinese analysts said.

"Receiving Pompeo in Beijing by anyone is in itself a" favor "given what the Trump administration has done to China since early July," said Shi Yinhong, professor of international relations at the University. Renmin Beijing.

At a meeting at the Foreign Ministry, his spokesman said the deterioration of his relations would not affect cooperation on North Korean issues. "In short, no," said spokesman Lu Kang to the question of whether there would be a negative effect.

But cooperation on North Korea – one of the important issues that the two sides worked on together – seemed less and less likely. North Korea did not accede to Washington's major demand for the first step towards denuclearization: an inventory of all its nuclear assets. The attitude of the North means that it is a problem that China could not solve, analysts said.

And while Washington wants to keep up the pressure on the North Korean economy by applying strict sanctions to the United Nations, China is now opposing this position. Last month, at the United Nations, Foreign Minister Wang proposed easing sanctions against the North, and China has begun allowing some types of trade to cross the country's common border.

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