China official discourages linking US trade moves to North Korea issue

China's Vice Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao, attends a conference during the 2016 IIF G20 Conference at the financial district of Pudong in Shanghai, China, February 25, 2016. REUTERS/Aly Song/Files

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's vice finance minister Zhu Guangyao said on Friday that economic issues should not be politicised, when asked whether the outcomes of the 100-day plan for trade talks with the United States were related to the North Korea nuclear issue. Zhu made the comments at a news briefing in Beijing. The U.S. and China will expand trade in beef and chicken and increase access for financial firms, U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on Thursday, in the first tangible results of trade talks that began last month. U.S. President Donald Trump had previously urged China to do more to rein in the actions of the North in exchange for favourable trade policies. (Reporting by Kevin Yao; Writing by Philip Wen; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)