'Obama, Xi to meet in late March,' says Chinese PM

U.S. President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping plan to meet in Washington D.C. late this month. It will be the first bilateral summit since September last year.

Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang said during his meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob J Lew in Beijing on Monday that the meeting between the two presidents would help improve relations between the two countries.” He seems to have had in mind the 4th Nuclear Security Summit, which will be held in Washington between March 31 and April 1.

President Obama had expressed his anticipation to meet Mr. Xi in the Nuclear Summit last month, appearing without any pre-notice in the meeting on sanctions against North Korea between Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and U.S. National Security Advisor Susan Rice. It seems that Li has confirmed Xi’s participation through Lew.

The two presidents are likely to focus on the highly disputed South China Sea issue. The U.S. has urged China to keep the demilitarization commitment made last September, pointing to the recent movement of SAM arrangement in the Paracel Islands and the plan to reinforce radar facilities.

If the summit is to be held, it is expected the leaders will discuss ways to more effectively implement sanctions against North Korea, especially given that it will take place during a nuclear-themed international summit.

베이징=구자룡특파원 bonhong@donga.com