Last week’s summit between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping lowered tensions but achieved no major breakthrough, the United Nations Secretary-General said on Wednesday, raising the stakes for the Chinese leader’s planned visit to Washington later this year.
“Let’s be clear, no major breakthrough was achieved and so the visit of President Xi to Washington gains an enormous importance,” António Guterres told a press conference in Tokyo.
Trump and Xi did not agree in Beijing to extend a fragile trade truce set to expire later this year, though Trump heaped praise on the Chinese leader and invited him to visit Washington in September.
Xi’s planned visit coincides with the UN General Assembly, raising the possibility that he could address the gathering in person for the first time since 2015. Guterres welcomed that prospect but gave no indication of whether such plans were under way.
The UN chief also reiterated his warning that the organisation faces “imminent financial collapse” due to unpaid dues, largely from the United States, the world’s top contributor. Outstanding debts across the UN’s peacekeeping and regular budgets amount to more than $3 billion, Guterres said, adding that he would continue to press Washington to pay and would not ask countries such as China and Japan to make up the shortfall.
(Reuters)
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