That the Chinese President #XiJinping will be pulling the strings of the historic June 12 summit between U.S. President Donald #Trump and North Korean leader #KimJongUn, sounded like Chinese wishful thinking. But then on May 17, Trump himself seemed to back that theory hinting that he saw the hand of #China behind #NorthKorea's sudden change of tone toward #SouthKorea and the Singapore summit.

Back in #China, Xi has been getting to know Kim, who has made 2 surprise visits to the country ahead of his summit with Trump. The visits have strengthened Xi's ties to Kim. The young North Korean leader has been eager to visit, seemingly because he believes it will give him negotiating leverage against Trump. Xi is trying to prevent a situation where Kim would shrug off its big neighbor China, move closer to Trump and open a direct conduit that would allow American companies to bring jobs to North Korea. Japan would also move diplomatically closer to its neighbor.


#WorldEconomy #Protectionism #America #Globalisation #GlobalTrade #TradeWars #EconomicRisk #Economy #TradePolicy #InternationalTrade #TradeTariffs #Politics #Geopolitics #InternationalRelations #US #GeopoliticalRisks #DPRK
Is Xi Jinping the scriptwriter of the Trump-Kim summit?
https://asia.nikkei.com/Editor-s-Picks/China-up-close/Is-Xi-Jinping-the-scriptwriter-of-the-Trump-Kim-summit

Fearing that #China has poisoned #NorthKorea's leader #KimJongun against him, #Trump attempted to extend an olive branch to President #XiJinping by offering to ease sanctions on Chinese telecoms company #ZTE. The moves come with just over 3 weeks to go before Trump is to meet Kim in Singapore on June 12 in a summit that Pyongyang has threatened to pull out of.

Late on Saturday (May 19), Trump called #SouthKorea's President #MoonJaein to ask why Pyongyang had shifted to a harder-line position, cancelling a meeting with South Korean officials and threatening to pull out of the June 12 talks. That came in sharp contrast to the more positive and constructive tone it held after Moon met Kim last month.


#WorldEconomy #Protectionism #America #Globalisation #GlobalTrade #TradeWars #EconomicRisk #Economy #TradePolicy #InternationalTrade #TradeTariffs #Politics #Geopolitics #InternationalRelations #US #GeopoliticalRisks #DPRK
Donald Trump ‘offered to ease ZTE sanctions to persuade China to help with North Korea summit’
http://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2146993/donald-trump-called-south-korean-leader-advice-kim

That the Chinese President #XiJinping will be pulling the strings of the historic June 12 summit between U.S. President Donald #Trump and North Korean leader #KimJongUn, sounded like Chinese wishful thinking. But then on May 17, Trump himself seemed to back that theory hinting that he saw the hand of #China behind #NorthKorea's sudden change of tone toward #SouthKorea and the Singapore summit.

Back in #China, Xi has been getting to know Kim, who has made 2 surprise visits to the country ahead of his summit with Trump. The visits have strengthened Xi's ties to Kim. The young North Korean leader has been eager to visit, seemingly because he believes it will give him negotiating leverage against Trump. Xi is trying to prevent a situation where Kim would shrug off its big neighbor China, move closer to Trump and open a direct conduit that would allow American companies to bring jobs to North Korea. Japan would also move diplomatically closer to its neighbor.


#WorldEconomy #Protectionism #America #Globalisation #GlobalTrade #TradeWars #EconomicRisk #Economy #TradePolicy #InternationalTrade #TradeTariffs #Politics #Geopolitics #InternationalRelations #US #GeopoliticalRisks #DPRK
Is Xi Jinping the scriptwriter of the Trump-Kim summit?
https://asia.nikkei.com/Editor-s-Picks/China-up-close/Is-Xi-Jinping-the-scriptwriter-of-the-Trump-Kim-summit

Fearing that #China has poisoned #NorthKorea's leader #KimJongun against him, #Trump attempted to extend an olive branch to President #XiJinping by offering to ease sanctions on Chinese telecoms company #ZTE. The moves come with just over 3 weeks to go before Trump is to meet Kim in Singapore on June 12 in a summit that Pyongyang has threatened to pull out of.

Late on Saturday (May 19), Trump called #SouthKorea's President #MoonJaein to ask why Pyongyang had shifted to a harder-line position, cancelling a meeting with South Korean officials and threatening to pull out of the June 12 talks. That came in sharp contrast to the more positive and constructive tone it held after Moon met Kim last month.


#WorldEconomy #Protectionism #America #Globalisation #GlobalTrade #TradeWars #EconomicRisk #Economy #TradePolicy #InternationalTrade #TradeTariffs #Politics #Geopolitics #InternationalRelations #US #GeopoliticalRisks #DPRK
Donald Trump ‘offered to ease ZTE sanctions to persuade China to help with North Korea summit’
http://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2146993/donald-trump-called-south-korean-leader-advice-kim

#China’s foreign minister has called for the #UnitedStates to respond calmly to threats by #NorthKorea to pull out of a summit between the two countries’ leaders. Foreign Minister #WangYi said issues surrounding the Korean peninsula situation must be handled with care to avoid the diplomatic failures of the past.

North Korean leader #KimJongun and US President Donald #Trump are due to meet in Singapore next month to discuss reining in Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons programme. But North Korea cancelled talks with the South this week and said it might not attend the Singapore talks after it was angered by military exercises conducted by the American and South Korean militaries.


#WorldEconomy #EconomicRisk #Economy #Geopolitics #DPRK #InternationalRelations #Diplomacy #GeopoliticalRisks
China tells Trump to stay calm over North Korea threat to cancel nuclear summit
http://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2146527/china-tells-trump-stay-calm-over-north-korea-threat

US President Donald #Trump says the so-called 'Libya model' for denuclearisation is not being pursued with #NorthKorea. In 2003, Libya's leader Muammar Gaddafi agreed to give up his nuclear programme but was killed by western-backed rebels years later. The suggestion, put forward by his national security adviser #JohnBolton, prompted alarm in North Korea. Mr Trump said he still thought a summit with the North would happen. North Korea warned on Wednesday that it might not attend the talks, due to take place in Singapore on 12 June.


#WorldEconomy #EconomicRisk #Economy #Geopolitics #DPRK #InternationalRelations #Diplomacy #GeopoliticalRisks #KimJongUn #UnitedStates
North Korea summit: Trump says no 'Libya model'
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-44158566

With just one month until a scheduled sit-down with #NorthKorea’s leader, President Donald #Trump hasn’t set aside much time to prepare for meeting with #KimJongUn, a stark contrast to the approach of past presidents. Even with North Korea threatening to scrap the meeting over long-planned U.S.-Korean military exercises, Trump’s aides in the White House and State Department are continuing to prepare briefing material in advance of the June 12 summit in Singapore.

Usually meetings with a U.S. president are held out as a reward at the end of lengthy negotiations. Trump has turned that on its head by agreeing to meet with Kim before North Korea has made any major permanent concessions in its nuclear posture. Coming to terms could also move faster because Pompeo has been talking directly with Kim, rather than lower-level officials who wouldn’t have decision-making power in the tightly controlled dictatorship.


#WorldEconomy #EconomicRisk #Economy #Geopolitics #DPRK #InternationalRelations #Diplomacy #GeopoliticalRisks #UnitedStates
President Trump 'Doesn't Think He Needs' to Prepare Much for His Meeting With North Korea's Kim Jong Un
http://time.com/5279914/donald-trump-north-korea-summit-preparation/

Donald #Trump wants a deal with #NorthKorea. His national security adviser thinks the North Koreans can’t be dealt with. And North Korea thinks he’s 'human scum.' North Korea’s latest diatribe against the #UnitedStates - and specifically a 'repugnant' national security adviser, #JohnBolton - spotlights a core tension within the Trump administration as the president seeks a nuclear deal with North Korea that he hopes might earn him a Nobel Peace Prize.

Particularly infuriating the North Koreans was Bolton’s invocation on Sunday (May 13) of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s decision to surrender his early-stage nuclear weapons infrastructure. Bolton is not the only voice shaping the approach to North Korea, of course: Secretary of State #MikePompeo has met twice in Pyongyang with Kim, and Trump officials say Pompeo will assume a bigger role in a process that has been driven mainly by the NSC’s top Asia official, Matthew Pottinger.


#WorldEconomy #EconomicRisk #Economy #Geopolitics #DPRK #InternationalRelations #Diplomacy #GeopoliticalRisks #KimJongUn #UnitedStates
Trump’s North Korea Nobel buzz could die with John Bolton
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/05/16/trump-north-korea-bolton-595064