China’s Xi offers to reduce friction over hotspots

Xi Jinping. AFP FILE PHOTO

BOAO, China — With pressure growing on Beijing to get tough on North Korea, Chinese President Xi Jinping says no one country should be allowed to upset world peace.

In a speech to a regional business forum in southern China on Sunday, Xi said Beijing will play a constructive role in reducing tensions over regional hotspots.

Xi did not offer any concrete plans for how to deal with neighbor North Korea, which has elevated regional tensions through war-like rhetoric and missile deployments in recent weeks. Xi did not even name any country when he said that no one should be allowed to create chaos for selfish gains.

Ambiguity aside, Xi’s speech at the China-sponsored Boao Forum for Asia marks an effort to strike an active, cooperative posture to calm regional tensions.