Understanding this relationship has important implications on how the United States can effectively deter North Korea. China Is Trying to Bribe North Korea into Good Behavior. As President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping meet in Beijing this week, not much about the North Korea crisis
Weifeng Zhong
Security, Asia
China Is Trying to Bribe North Korea into Good Behavior. Here Is What That Means for America.
As President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping meet in Beijing this week, not much about the North Korea crisis has changed since their Mar-a-Lago summit in April. U. S. policy toward the “Rocket Man” will not bear much fruit unless the Trump administration comes to terms with the fact that Sino–North Korean relations are strained these days.
China’s growing trade with the rogue state understandably frustrates Mr. Trump. To be fair, China’s dominance of North Korea trade is partly driven by the fact that other countries are cutting ties with Pyongyang. It is in Beijing’s interest to support the Kim regime and prevent it from collapsing, so that thousands of refugees do not pour across the border. But the fact that China ramped up its economic support in recent years—driving North Korea’s overall trade from $4.8 billion in 2006 to as high as $7.8 billion in 2013, according to the International Monetary Fund—calls for further explanation.
In a new research paper, I provide an explanation of China’s trade policy toward the rogue regime. As I elaborate in the paper and below, Sino–North Korean relations are now as strained as ever. If, in addition to that, Beijing imposes tough sanctions on Pyongyang, it might enrage the “unruly” Kim—to the extent of him wanting to go after China. While such a challenge by North Korea would not be a big deal to China with its military might, the potential conflict would be more burdensome than having to deal with North Korean refugees crossing the border into China. Trading with North Korea, therefore, amounts to a convenient strategy to buy it off. Understanding this relationship has important implications on how the United States can effectively deter North Korean proliferation through China.
A good measure of what China thinks about North Korea can be found in the People’s Daily, the mouthpiece of the Communist Party of China.
