Xi urges ‘restraint’

BEIJING: Chinese President Xi Jinping urged "restraint" over North Korea in a phone call with Donald Trump on Monday, as Japan joined exercises with an American supercarrier heading to the Korean peninsula.

The US leader has repeatedly called on China, the North’s sole major ally, to do more to rein in Pyongyang, as tensions in the region soar amid speculation it will conduct another nuclear test.

"China hopes that the relevant parties can maintain restraint and avoid actions that would increase tensions in the Korean peninsula," Xi said, according to the foreign ministry.

"The only way to realise denuclearisation in the Korean peninsula and quickly resolve North Korea’s nuclear problem is for each relevant party to fulfil its duties." The conversation -- the second since their summit at Trump’s luxury resort in Florida early this month -- highlights rising concern in Beijing that tensions between Washington and Pyongyang could spiral into military conflict.

"The international situation is rapidly changing, it is essential that China and the US maintain a close contact and exchange opinions on important matters in a timely manner," Xi told Trump.

Trump also spoke to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday, discussing the joint drills under way between the US carrier Carl Vinson and Japan’s Maritime Self-Defence Force.