March 26, 2017
China Won’t Fix North Korea—Focus on These Four Areas Instead
Kim Jong Un’s North Korea continues to make one provocative move after another: It keeps firing off missiles and detonating nuclear devices and recently used chemical weapons to assassinate Kim’s exiled half-brother in the Kuala Lumpur airport. The pace and scope of developments has generated a growing consensus among national security leaders that the situation is deteriorating quickly and something needs to change. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s recent trip to Japan, the Republic of Korea (ROK), and China focused on the challenge emanating from North Korea. And the topic will no doubt be high on the list for President Donald Trump’s potential meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping early next month.
However, most of the options analysts and policymakers propose rely on an old assumption: The best way to influence Pyongyang is via a geopolitical bank-shot through Beijing. President Trump expressed this view very clearly on the campaign trail when he promised to tell China’s leadership that “this [North Korea] is your baby. This is your problem. You solve the problem, because China can solve that problem.” Since the election Trump has lamented that China “won't help with North Korea,” suggesting again that Beijing should be expected to rein in Pyongyang. He doubled down earlier this month as Tillerson prepared to meet with Chinese counterparts and lobbed the accusation that “China has done little to help” control Pyongyang. The Bloomberg editorial board also recently opined that it is “China’s turn to deal with North Korea.”
Read the full article from Lawfare.
More from CNAS
-
When and Why China Might—or Might Not—Attack Taiwan
Commentary
Washington should continue to emphasize to Beijing the costs of aggression and the value of the status quo for China, the region, and the world...
By Jacob Stokes
-
Why China’s eventual aims with Taiwan could have a major global financial and economic impact
Video
On CNBC’s Worldwide Exchange, Martijn Rasser discusses the rise in tensions between China and Taiwan, potential responses by the U.S. and G-7 countries, and whether Beijing co...
By Martijn Rasser
-
China and Russia’s Dangerous Convergence
Commentary
Any effort to address either Russia’s or China’s destabilizing behavior must now account for the two countries’ deepening partnership....
By Andrea Kendall-Taylor & David Shullman
-
US monitors Beijing interest in global microchip market
Video
Martijn Rasser offers insights to Fox News on how semiconductor shortage intensifies US-China tensions. Watch the full conversation on Fox News....
By Martijn Rasser
