What to watch for in Tillerson’s China visit: North Korean crisis, Sino-US trade tensions
The US Secretary of State’s second official China trip will take place from Thursday to Sunday, paving the way for the US president’s inaugural visit
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will arrive in Beijing this week with a full agenda, in the midst of an escalating crisis over North Korea’s nuclear and missile weapons development and Sino-US trade tensions.
The diplomat’s second official visit to China will take place from Thursday to Sunday and pave the way for US President Donald Trump’s inaugural visit to Beijing in November.
Amid a difficult strategic landscape, here are some of the main points to watch for during Tillerson’s trip.
North Korea
Tensions on the Korean peninsula will undoubtedly play a primary role during the visit, given the ratcheting up in recent days of the rhetoric between North Korea and the US. Pyongyang has accused Trump of having “declared war” with his brashly worded tweet that stated that North Korea “won’t be around much longer”, dismissing leader Kim Jong-un as “Little Rocket Man.” Washington also imposed additional sanctions on the reclusive authoritarian regime on Tuesday, attempting to slow North Korea’s nuclear and military weapons programmes after its sixth and largest nuclear test earlier this month.
