Story highlights Rex Tillerson and James Mattis met senior members of the Chinese government

Mattis said the dialog was "open and frank"

(CNN) Two top Trump administration officials insisted Wednesday that the United States and China share a common understanding about the threat posed by North Korea, one day after President Donald Trump tweeted that a Chinese attempt to bring the regime in line "has not worked out."

"China understands that the United States regards North Korea as our top security threat," Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told reporters following meetings with Chinese counterparts. "We reiterated to China that they have a diplomatic responsibility to exert much greater economic and diplomatic pressure on the regime if they want to prevent further escalation in the region."

Secretary of Defense James Mattis reinforced the message, calling the dialogue "open and frank," and insisting, "China continues to work these issues."

For months, the Trump administration has lobbied China to exert its economic influence over the North Korean government in an effort to halt that country's nuclear weapons and missile development activities.

But in a tweet Tuesday, Trump suggested those efforts had failed.

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