U.S. President Donald Trump turned to Twitter after news of the launch, before North Korea’s claim the missile was an ICBM. He wrote: "Perhaps China will put a heavy move on North Korea and end this nonsense once and for all!” In response, China Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said Beijing had been "indispensable" in pressuring North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Tensions are rising between Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping over a broader range of issues. In a call with the U.S. president this week, Xi complained about a "negative" turn in ties. The U.S. has in recent days announced a $1.3 billion arms sale to Taiwan, published a report ranking China among the world’s worst human-trafficking offenders and called on Beijing to let ailing Noble Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo seek cancer treatment abroad.