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Article snippet: BEIJING — President Trump heaped praise on President Xi Jinping of China on Thursday, saying he was confident China would help defuse the threat from North Korea and reduce its trade deficits with the United States, which he blamed on his own predecessors, not the Chinese. Mr. Trump, speaking in Beijing, called on Mr. Xi to redouble Chinese pressure on the North over its nuclear and missile programs, declaring, “We have it in our power to liberate the world” from the North Korean “menace.” While the president also vowed to redress chronic trade imbalances, he framed them as a failure of American policy, even saluting Mr. Xi for leading a country that had left the United States “so far behind” and saying he could not blame the Chinese for taking advantage of Americans. Mr. Trump did call on China to open up its market, but he came to Beijing without any specific proposals for doing so, preferring to celebrate a slew of American investment deals with Chinese companies, which the two sides claimed were worth more than $250 billion. As he sat down with Mr. Xi in the Great Hall of the People, Mr. Trump instead kept the focus on personal rapport. He spoke of Mr. Xi as a friend with whom he had “great chemistry,” marveling at the hospitality Mr. Xi had shown him, which included a full-dress military parade in Tiananmen Square and a sunset tour of the Forbidden City. “You’re a very special man,” Mr. Trump told Mr. Xi in joint statements made before reporters at which the... Link to the full article to read more