Following North Korea' s second test of an intercontinental ballistic missile last Friday, President Trump didn' t hold back: " I am very
Following North Korea’s second test of an intercontinental ballistic missile last Friday, President Trump didn’t hold back: “I am very disappointed in China, ” he tweeted. Then he brought up China’s trade surplus with the U. S., saying despite it, “They do NOTHING for us with North Korea, just talk.”
On Monday, China’s official news agency, Xinhua, responded in an editorial: “Emotional venting cannot become a guiding policy for solving the nuclear issue on the peninsula.”
Such is the state of public diplomacy between these two global powers in the face of an advancing nuclear threat in Northeast Asia. So far, to try to achieve more cooperation with China, Trump has gone from trying to charm Chinese President Xi Jinping at Mar-a-Lago to tweeting his disappointment — and now, openly threatening the U. S.-Chinese trade relationship.
But the extent of China’s influence on North Korea isn’t as sweeping — or straightforward — as it may seem. Here are some key questions:
How much can China actually do to help influence the situation in North Korea?
China shares its northeast border with North Korea. During the Korean War, it fought with North Korean leader Kim Il Sung’s troops, and today is Pyongyang’s largest economic link to the rest of the world. China accounts for at least 85 percent of North Korea’s trade — up from last year, despite North Korea’s provocations and subsequent sanctions.
“Trump is right that China has the most leverage over North Korea of any country because of the decades-long relationship and economic relationship between the two sides, ” says Amy King, a lecturer at the Australian National University.
But, she says, constantly insisting that China do more “abrogates [other countries’] own responsibility, particularly in the case of the U. S.” In other words, she believes, the U. S. could be doing more outreach to North Korea on its own instead of criticizing China.
That’s a point Chinese diplomats are making, too.
“If the two principal parties [the U. S. and North Korea] refuse to move toward what is required by the Security Council resolutions — de-escalation of tension, negotiations to achieve denuclearization and peace and stability and also resume dialogue — then no matter how capable China is, China’s efforts will not yield practical results because it depends on the two principal parties, ” said the Chinese ambassador to the United Nations, Liu Jieyi, in a press conference this week.
