U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed issues related to the Korean Peninsula during a meeting at the White House on September 24, raising speculation that a North Korea summit may be on the agenda.
According to China's state-run Xinhua News Agency, the two leaders exchanged views on major international and regional issues, including the situation in the Middle East, the Ukraine crisis, and the Korean Peninsula. However, specific details of their discussions were not disclosed, and there was no mention of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un or the North Korea-U.S. summit. Western media also could not confirm whether Trump and Xi directly discussed a meeting with Kim.
Nonetheless, given that the North Korean issue has been a significant concern in the U.S., it is believed that the topic of a North Korea summit was sufficiently addressed during the meeting. Currently, President Trump is pushing for a North Korea summit with Kim Jong Un in the latter half of this year. South Korean President Lee Jae-myung also met with Trump in New York on September 22, reaffirming the commitment to resume dialogue with North Korea. Trump reiterated his willingness to engage in talks with Kim, while President Lee stated that South Korea and the U.S. would closely communicate to support the resumption of North Korea-U.S. dialogue.
Importantly, while the U.S. and China share overlapping interests regarding North Korea, their positions differ. The U.S. emphasizes deterring North Korea's nuclear and missile threats and pursuing denuclearization, whereas China has focused on stability and easing tensions on the Korean Peninsula. This context raises the possibility that the role of China was discussed as Trump seeks to resume dialogue with Kim. There has also been speculation about a potential meeting between Trump and Kim during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Shenzhen, China, in November.
However, as of now, there is no confirmation that Xi proposed to arrange a meeting between Trump and Kim, nor has it been verified that Trump requested China's cooperation regarding North Korea. While it is officially acknowledged that the Korean Peninsula issue was on the agenda during the meeting, the specifics of any discussions regarding a summit between Kim and Trump remain unclear.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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