After issuing a stark warning to North Korea earlier today during a visit to South Korea, Donald Trump has jetted to Beijing to pressure Chinese President Xi Jinping to lean on Pyongyang over its nuclear programmes.
But the US president - on the final leg of a 12-day trip to Asia - may find that his unique style of diplomacy isn’t enough to persuade the communist strongman.
Trump will try to convince Xi to “squeeze North Korea further with steps such as limits on oil exports, coal imports and financial transactions”, says Reuters. But according to The New York Times, the Chinese president “either cannot, or does not want to, do the job”.
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Trump may find himself on the back foot, says Matthew Pennington of the Associated Press. Xi is at the height of his power after being endorsed for his second five-year term as Communist Party leader, while Trump - elected exactly a year ago today - has seen his approval ratings drop to an all-time low.
Trump could find success with US-China trade initiatives, however. He is expected to announce “billions of dollars in deals” to address the trade gap between the two nations, says CNBC. The agreements will probably centre on China buying US energy and farm products, as well as aircraft and other machinery.
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