Trump-Kim summit hangover continues: After Singapore and Seoul, Mike Pompeo visits Beijing today

Even though US President Donald Trump had his historic meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un concluded two days ago, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was still not done with his engagements with the Far East.

Pompeo, who was in Singapore during the Trump-Kim summit, flew to South Korea thereafter to brief its leadership about the outcome of the summit and on Thursday, June 14, he was set to flow to China to discuss with its leadership the ways to implement deals that were made during the talks as well as the ongoing trade dispute between Washington and Beijing, Chinese experts said on Wednesday, June 13, China's Global Times reported.

Pompeo will make his first visit to China as the US secretary of state at the invitation of his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Wednesday.

China hopes that through the discussions during Pompeo's visit, Beijing and Washington could better their mutual understanding and seek ways to handle the disputes, strengthen cooperation and steer the bilateral ties in the right direction.

China though did not divulge the specifics of Pompeo's visit, the latter had tweeted on June 12, saying: "Tomorrow Seoul, then on to Beijing to continue to build the team to achieve the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula."

What are the observers saying on Pompeo's visit?

Li Haidong, a professor at China Foreign Affairs University's Institute of International Relations in Beijing, told Global Times that the US-North Korea agreements are at best frameworks and needed to be "processed into tangible stages before implementation".

"As the US side increasingly recognizes the China-proposed "double suspension" and "dual track approach" as the best option to handle the Korean Peninsula issues and the irreplaceable role played by a cooperative China on the matter, it would be on the top of Pompeo's agenda to listen to China's opinion on how to transform the agreements into reality," the Times quoted Li as saying.