Chinese president calls for restraint on N. Korea

Chinese President Xi Jinping during a call with President Trump reportedly urged restraint in dealing with North Korea.

Chinese state media reported that Xi said China “strongly opposes” anything that would go against United Nations Security Council resolutions, according to USA Today.

Xi also told Trump that China wishes “the parties concerned will exercise restraint and avoid actions that aggravate tensions on the Peninsula,” the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

{mosads}“Xi noted that if the parties shoulder their due responsibilities and meet each other halfway, they can solve the nuclear issue of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and denuclearize the Korean Peninsula,” Xinhua added.

Last week, Trump put new pressure on China to rein in North Korea.

“China is very much the economic lifeline to North Korea so, while nothing is easy, if they want to solve the North Korean problem, they will,” the president tweeted last week.

Vice President Pence last week said the U.S. would have an “overwhelming and effective” response should North Korea test its resolve.

He warned North Korea not to test Trump or the U.S. military and said the “era of strategic patience is over.”

The call between Trump and the Chinese president comes amid heightened tensions between the U.S. and North Korea, with both sides floating the possibility of military action against one another.