Security concerns set to dominate meeting being held on Wednesday, but neither side appears ready to offer meaningful concessions, experts say
China’s willingness to help rein in North Korea’s nuclear threat poses the biggest source of uncertainty in ties with the United States, as heightened tensions on the Korean peninsula look set to dominate a bilateral security gathering in Washington on Wednesday. Alongside North Korea’s nuclear brinkmanship, top officials from both sides will also attempt to bridge widening gaps over divergent security interests, which pundits believe are the “weakest link” of Sino-US relations that could lead to conflict if not properly managed. But the inaugural US-China Diplomatic and Security Dialogue, jointly initiated by US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, is unlikely to see any breakthroughs. The embattled US leader has not yet put a coherent China policy in place five months into his term and his Asia team is not fully staffed up, analysts say. While the meeting was likely to touch on a range of bilateral and international issues, including the South China Sea disputes and cross-strait relations, the focus would no doubt be North Korea, Stephen Orlins, president of the National Committee on US-China Relations, said. “The biggest risk for the relationship is potential disappointment [for Trump] over North Korea, ” Orlins said. “President Trump has decided the litmus test for US-China relations is if China can rein in North Korea. However, history suggests that China cannot control North Korea and Trump may be disappointed. Nonetheless, lately I see signs. I see the Chinese are doing stuff [on North Korea] , very quietly, but they are doing things and maybe we can see a better result than we have seen historically.” Gal Luft, co-director of the Washington-based Institute for the Analysis of Global Security, agreed. “Both sides will measure each other’s intentions, ” Luft said.
