“North Korea is also a matter of global concern,” Clinton said at the opening of the Strategic and Economic Dialogue in Beijing. “We must work together again to address this challenge.”
The U.S. is seeking China’s backing to punish North Korea for the deadly attack on a South Korean ship in March, an issue that has eclipsed other items on the agenda for the high-level talks. South Korea today said it will seek UN action against North Korea after a report concluded last week that it was behind the torpedoing of a warship that killed 46 sailors.
China is North Korea’s closest ally. Clinton yesterday met with senior Chinese officials to convey how seriously the U.S. views developments on the Korean peninsula, an Obama administration official said. The U.S. and its allies have not faced such a serious regional incident in decades, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
In today’s remarks, Clinton called for cooperation that creates “win-win solutions, rather than zero-sum rivalries” with China.
Hu’s Warning
Chinese President Hu Jintao, speaking minutes later, echoed the call for cooperation on issues of security, financial matters and climate change, while cautioning against unilateral foreign policy decisions.
“We do not believe that world affairs should be determined by one or two individual countries,” he said.
Hu also reminded his guests that China and the U.S. have fundamental differences over Tibet and Taiwan, both of which have caused bilateral friction. President Barack Obama’s hosting of Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama in February and his decision to sell arms to Taiwan, regarding by the Beijing government as a reengage province, drew rebukes from China.
“We should respect each other’s core interests and major concerns,” Hu said. “Sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity are a country’s most basic rights recognized by the norms governing international relations.”
Hu spoke to the largest delegation of U.S. Cabinet members and sub-Cabinet members ever to travel to China, part of an Obama Administration effort to forge a new relationship between the two nations. The two-day Strategic and Economic Dialogue will examine areas of mutual concern and cooperation from global financial stability to North Korea.
Hu made it clear that the China-U.S. relationship was on new footing, referring to “new relations for a new century,” while warning of negative consequences if ties fray.
“Should China and the United States not be able to build and develop such unified relations, the chance for peace will be seriously undermined in the 21st century,” he said.
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