WASHINGTON �� U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson used a 24-hour trip to Beijing to smooth the way for an expected meeting next month between the leaders of the U.S. and China as tensions remain high over trade policy and North Korea.
After delivering a sharp warning about North Korea's nuclear program during earlier stops in Tokyo and Seoul, Tillerson's tone was more measured in meetings with Chinese officials, including President Xi Jinping. At an event with Foreign Minister Wang Yi, he twice echoed Chinese phrasing directly, promising a relationship of "nonconflict, nonconfrontation, mutual respect, and win-win cooperation."
For China, Tillerson's words will be seen as reassurance the U.S. isn't looking for a major change in relations. Officials have been unsure about Washington's intentions after President Donald Trump's threats to punish China for its trade practices.
While the U.S. State Department said Tillerson's visit was focused on efforts to get China to do more to rein in its ally, North Korea, a second goal was to lay the groundwork for a possible Xi visit in April to Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. And while Tillerson has interacted with senior diplomats before, the meetings were a chance for China to take the measure of a man who was one of the U.S.'s most prominent oil executives until a few months ago.
Tillerson is "still rather obscure" to Chinese diplomats, said Ruan Zongze, vice president of the China Institute of International Studies run by China's foreign ministry and an envoy to Washington from 2007 to 2011. "We want to know what his take is on some major issues. We hope to establish a smooth senior level diplomatic channel from the very beginning."
In his first visit as secretary of state, Tillerson emphasized areas where the countries could work together instead of offering any critiques.
Speaking about the North Korean nuclear program in Seoul beforehand, Tillerson said Chinese moves to punish South Korea economically for its decision to deploy a U.S. missile-defense system were "troubling." He said Beijing should do more to enforce United Nations sanctions intended to punish North Korea for developing nuclear weapons.
In China, he said the countries agreed "things have reached a rather dangerous level" on the Korean peninsula.
