US expert says a \u2018real gap\u2019 exists between the two nations in evaluating the level of peril posed by Pyongyang\u2019s nuclear programme after ICBM launch<\/b>
\nTop Chinese and US experts differ over how to defuse the North Korean nuclear threat, reflecting a gap between the two nations in assessing the issue\u2019s urgency after Pyongyang claimed a successful launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching Alaska.
At the Washington-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies on Thursday, a US team of experts criticised China for not recognising \u201cthe new level of threat posed by the Kim Jong-un regime\u201d. The US is \u201cincredibly concerned about the launch of an ICBM, \u201d said Bonnie Glaser, a senior adviser for Asia at the think tank.
American intelligence has determined that North Korea\u2019s latest test-launch on Tuesday, a day before the US Independence Day holiday, was an ICBM capable of striking Alaska, according to various US reports. China has not yet reached the same conclusion. \u201cWe are trying to get more information, following the developments of the situation and making the assessment, \u201d Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said on Wednesday during a press briefing.
\u201cI do sense a real gap between the two countries in terms of the assessment of the urgency, \u201d Glaser said. The two sides\u2019 expert teams jointly launched parallel reports on US-China relations to redefine their differences and commonalities to date in an event at the think tank.
Trump warns North Korea he\u2019s weighing a severe response for their \u2018very, very bad behaviour\u2019
The Trump administration has accused China of not doing enough to press North Korea through its economic ties with the reclusive country.
On that note, Glaser said China failed to act against certain Chinese banks that have allegedly given financial support to Pyongyang\u2019s missile and nuclear programme. Bank of Dandong, a Chinese bank sanctioned by the US last week, is just the \u201ctip of an iceberg, there are more\u201d, she said.
The North Korea issue is expected to be on the table during the upcoming meeting between President Xi Jinping and US President Trump on the sidelines of the Group of 20 nations\u2019 summit in Hamburg, Germany this week.
In contrast to the US side, Chinese experts played down the urgency of North Korea threat, insisting that the problem cannot be addressed by sanctions alone, and that diplomacy is necessary, according to the parallel report released on Thursday.
Zhu Feng, a professor of international relations at Nanjing University in China, disputed his American peers\u2019 arguments at the event. \u201cIt\u2019s not easy for China to punch the table and cut all the trade relations with DPRK overnight, \u201d he said, using the abbreviation for North Korea\u2019s formal name, the Democratic People\u2019s Republic of Korea.
Trump wants China to get \u2018heavy\u2019 with North Korea after test-fire of ballistic missile toward Japan
Zhu, who co-authored the Chinese side\u2019s report, said that notwithstanding the disputes, China benefits from having the US as a \u201cregional security anchor\u201d. The Asia Pacific area is the \u201cbiggest testing ground\u201d for US-China relations, even though sometimes ideological and political collisions happen, he said.<\/p>\n

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