The Chinese Foreign Ministry issued a response to a question about North Korea Tuesday, demanding those holding Beijing responsible stop.<\/b>
\n\u201cAs we said repeatedly, the crux of the Korean nuclear issue rests on the conflict between the DPRK and the US and it is in essence a security issue, \u201d spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters. \u201cThe Chinese side is neither the focal point of the conflict of the Korean nuclear issue nor the catalyzer for escalation of tensions at present, and it does not hold the key to solving the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.\u201d
Geng went on to accuse \u201ccertain people, \u201d without naming them, of \u201cexaggerating and playing up the so-called \u2018China responsibility\u2019 theory. Those people have either failed to grasp the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue comprehensively and accurately, or done [sic] this out of ulterior motives with an attempt to shirk responsibility\u201d:
\u201cEnough of the so-called \u2018China responsibility\u2019 theory on the Korean Peninsula issue, \u201d Geng concluded.
The rant during the Foreign Ministry\u2019s regular press briefing is a sign that the Chinese government may be feeling the pressure from the international community, spearheaded by a Trump White House that has repeatedly accused China, North Korea\u2019s largest trading partner, of not taking enough of an initiative to contain the threat of a nuclear Pyongyang.
Before meeting with President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit last weekend, President Donald Trump lamented Beijing\u2019s growing trade with North Korea on a Twitter post that read, \u201cTrade between China and North Korea grew almost 40% in the first quarter. So much for China working with us\u2014but we had to give it a try!\u201d
Following the meeting, United Nations representative Nikki Haley threatened China with economic consequences if its government continued to profit off of trade with North Korea. On Sunday, Haley said, \u201cI think there are a lot of options on the table when it comes to dealing with China. The ball is in their court.
\u201cThey\u2019 re either going to go along with us and the rest of the international community and say, yes, we think that what North Korea did was wrong or they\u2019 re not. The president knows what all his options are.\u201d
\u201cI think there will be a response if they don\u2019 t go along with that, \u201d she concluded. \u201cThe president has made it clear that he will start looking at trade relations with China.\u201d
The United States Treasury Department recently sanctioned the Chinese Bank of Dandong for conducting business with the North Korean regime, violating international sanctions. While Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin clarified that the sanctions are \u201cin no way targeting China, \u201d as a communist government Beijing has a hand in all business ventures within its borders.
The Chinese government did not issue a stern response to the sanctions, however. Instead, following the announcement and subsequent North Korean launch of what they claimed to be an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) , the Chinese government condemned the launch and called for dialogue.
\u201cChina finds this launching unacceptable, \u201d UN representative Liu Jieyi said last week. \u201cWe strongly urge the DPRK [Democratic People\u2019s Republic of Korea] to strictly abide by the resolutions of the Security Council and put a stop to any rhetoric and action that might further exacerbate the tension on the Peninsula.\u201d<\/p>\n

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