▲ This photo, released by the Associated Press, shows U.S. President Donald Trump (L) posing for a picture with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a visit to the Zhongnanhai Garden in Beijing on May 15, 2026. (Yonhap)

Trump-Xi-N Korea

Trump, Xi reaffirm shared goal of denuclearizing N. Korea: White House

By Song Sang-ho

WASHINGTON, May 17 (Yonhap) -- U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping reaffirmed their shared goal of denuclearizing North Korea during their recent summit talks in Beijing, the White House said in a fact sheet released Sunday.

The two leaders met in the Chinese capital on Thursday and Friday, during which they discussed a range of key issues, including security on the Korean Peninsula, the status of Taiwan, the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran and bilateral trade.

"President Trump and President Xi confirmed their shared goal to denuclearize North Korea," the White House said in the fact sheet.

During an ABC interview broadcast earlier in the day, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer also said that Trump and Xi "agreed that the goal on the Korean Peninsula remains denuclearization."

The reaffirmation of the denuclearization goal came as Pyongyang has been doubling down on its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, and is apparently pursuing the international community's recognition of its status as a nuclear power.

It remains unclear whether China's agreement on the goal would translate into greater pressure on the North to move toward denuclearization, given Beijing's apparently lackluster enforcement of sanctions against Pyongyang.

The Trump administration has already reaffirmed its commitment to the "complete" denuclearization of North Korea.

Also in the fact sheet, the White House said Trump and Xi agreed that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, called for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, noting no country or organization should be allowed to charge tolls.

It also said that Trump and Xi chartered two new institutions, the Board of Trade and the Board of Investment, to optimize the bilateral economic relationship.

The Board of Trade is designed to manage bilateral trade across nonsensitive goods, while the Board of Investment will provide a government-to-government forum for discussing investment-related issues.

In addition, the fact sheet included China's approval for an initial purchase of 200 Boeing aircraft for Chinese airlines, its agreement to buy at least US$17 billion worth of U.S. agricultural products per year through 2028, in addition to the soybean purchase commitments that China made in October 2025.

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