China, US seek stronger ties as North Korea hails rocket progress

The test was apparently timed to coincide with the visit of US secretary of state Rex Tillerson to Beijing, where he warned that regional tensions had reached a 'dangerous level'.

North Korea’s state news agency said Kim Jong-un oversaw the testing of a newly developed high-thrust engine. KCNA via KNS / AFP

BEIJING // Chinese president Xi Jinping and US secretary of state Rex Tillerson on Sunday pledged to work to strengthen a relationship strained by disputes over North Korea and trade.

Mr Xi met Mr Tillerson in Beijing just hours after nuclear-armed North Korea tested the US-China relationship anew by announcing a provocative rocket engine trial, and with delicate negotiations under way for a summit between Mr Xi and President Donald Trump.

Mr Xi and Mr Trump had resolved in a phone call last month “to make joint efforts to advance China-US cooperation, and we believe that we can make sure the relationship will move ahead in a constructive fashion in the new era”, Mr Xi said.

“I’m confident that as long as we can do this the relationship can surely move in the right direction,” he said.

En route to Beijing, Mr Tillerson visited US allies Japan and South Korea where he declared Washington would drop the “failed” approach of “strategic patience” with Pyongyang — adding that US military action against the North was possible.

That marked a sharp break with China, which favours careful diplomacy over heated rhetoric.

Relations have also been strained by China’s fierce opposition to a US missile defence system being rolled out in South Korea and Mr Trump’s Twitter accusation on Friday that China was not doing enough to control Pyongyang, its neighbour and historic ally.

Mr Trump has also repeatedly accused China of unfair trade practices.

But Mr Tillerson appeared to be soothing ties with Beijing, telling Mr Xi that “we know that through further dialogue we will achieve a greater understanding that will lead to a ... strengthening of the ties between China and the United States and set the tone for our future relationship of cooperation”.

Earlier on Sunday, North Korean state media said the isolated regime had tested a powerful engine hailed by leader Kim Jong-un as a “new birth” for its rocket industry, which experts view as cover for developing intercontinental ballistic missiles.

The announcement’s timing appeared intended to sour Mr Tillerson’s China visit.

On Saturday, Mr Tillerson said after talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi that tensions on the Korean peninsula had reached a “dangerous level”.

Mr Tillerson and Mr Wang pledged to work together to denuclearise the North Korean rogue regime, but offered no clear way forward.

Mr Wang, however, chided the US secretary of state over his recent tough talk, saying “we hope all parties, including our friends from the United States, can size up the situation in a cool-headed” fashion.

It was not clear whether Xi and Tillerson discussed North Korea.

The North’s state news agency KCNA said Mr Kim oversaw the rocket engine test and “emphasised that the whole world will soon witness what eventful significance the great victory won today carries” — a possible veiled warning to Pyongyang’s adversaries.

* Agence France-Presse