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WORLD NEWS Saturday 9 March 2019

China calls US-North Korea summit an ‘important step’

By CHRISTOPHER BODEEN major ally and a chief pro-
Associated Press vider of energy and trade
BEIJING (AP) — The U.S.- that keeps the country’s
North Korea summit in Viet- broken economy afloat.
nam last week was an “im- In recent years, however,
portant step” toward denu- China has agreed to in-
clearization on the Korean creasingly strict United Na-
Peninsula, China’s foreign tions sanctions over the
minister said Friday, despite North’s nuclear programs
criticism that the meeting and missile tests, although
ended early without lead- Pyongyang has not carried
ing to an agreement. out such activities for more
The Hanoi talks between than a year.
President Donald Trump After a period of frosty
and North Korean leader times, Chinese leader Xi
Kim Jong Un were “worthy Jinping met four times with
of full recognition,” For- Kim last year, Wang noted.
eign Minister Wang Yi said He declined to say wheth-
at a news conference on er Xi had any plans to visit
the sidelines of the annual Pyongyang.
meeting of China’s cere- During the wide-ranging
monial legislature. two-hour briefing, Wang
“We feel like this meeting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi speaks during a press conference on the sidelines of the annual also strongly defended
was an important step in meeting of China’s National People’s Congress (NPC) in Beijing, Friday, March 8, 2019. China’s massive “belt and
finding a political resolution Associated Press road” initiative against ac-
to the (Korean) Peninsula the peninsula “cannot be phased approach to end- or make unilateral, unreal- cusations it is miring poor
issue,” Wang said. That the solved overnight.” ing the North’s nuclear pro- istic demands,” Wang said. nations in poverty to pay
two “leaders overcame Trump and Kim’s sum- gram in return for a reduc- “In China’s view, the key to for Chinese financed ports,
obstacles to meet again in mit ended abruptly Feb. tion in sanctions, in contrast solving the issue lies in not power plants and high-
a candid face-to-face dis- 28 after a dispute over with U.S. demands that being a prisoner of history ways. Wang said the $1 tril-
cussion itself represents a how much sanctions relief Pyongyang end the pro- and breaking the cycle lion infrastructure program
positive development that Washington should pro- gram permanently in one of mistrust,” he said, add- linking China to Europe, Af-
must be applauded.” vide Pyongyang in return fell swoop. ing China would continue rica and other parts of Asia
He encouraged the two for nuclear disarmament “All parties need to have playing its “irreplaceable had been endorsed by 72
countries to “remain pa- steps. No agreement was reasonable expectations role” in promoting negotia- countries and had already
tient,” and noted that reached. and one should not set the tions. racked up considerable
many issues concerning Wang said China favors a bar too high at the outset China is North Korea’s only success.q

Chinese relatives of missing MH370 passengers seek answers

Associated Press Malaysia and Australia, the eign ministry director sur-
BEIJING (AP) — Around 40 whereabouts of the plane named Chen for about 15
people gathered outside remain unknown. Debris minutes. Zhang said they
China’s foreign ministry Fri- that washed ashore in the were disappointed Chen
day to seek answers on the western Indian Ocean indi- didn’t have any direct re-
ill-fated Malaysia Airlines cated the plane crashed in sponses to their questions.
Flight 370, which took away the remote southern Indian After the two years-long
their loved ones exactly Ocean. joint underwater search in
five years ago. “Why does the world stop the southern Indian Ocean
The plane disappeared on talking?” asked Guan was called off in January
March 8, 2014, on a jour- Zhongping, whose daugh- 2017, a U.S. company at-
ney from Kuala Lumpur to ter was on the flight. tempted an exploration
Beijing. The majority of the “Why is it totally covered last May that also yielded
239 people on board were up?” he said. “We, the rela- no results.
Chinese. tives, want to put a ques- But there have been rum-
While the mystery initially tion mark on this.” blings that Malaysia may
captured the world’s at- A relative of passengers on board the missing Malaysia Airlines Zhang Niuli, who lost her resume its search, said Ji-
tention and prompted a Flight 370 (MH370) weeps after a meeting with Chinese Foreign daughter on the flight, said ang Hui, whose mother was
joint search effort by China, Ministry officials in Beijing, Friday, March 8, 2019. the families met with a for- among the passengers.q
Associated Press