Why China Wants The Status Quo On The Korean Peninsula

Image Credit: Flickr / roman-harak

Anthony Miller, The Diplomat: The Chinese Dream in Peril: Xi Jinping and the Korean Crisis

Beijing has a vested interest in the status quo — not in the Kim dynasty.

With tensions escalating rapidly again on the Korean peninsula, the attention of the world invariably has returned to the question of whether or not the solution to the crisis lies in Beijing. After months of continuing missile tests by North Korea despite sanctions and global condemnation, Kim Jong-un’s regime claims to have tested a hydrogen bomb and once again launched an intercontinental ballistic missile over Japan. North Korea’s march toward wielding a nuclear arsenal against its neighbors and far off enemies, like the United States, is nearing completion. For Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), North Korea’s obstinate drive toward becoming a nuclear force has dealt Beijing a critical challenge at a moment when the party would prefer to focus on other matters seen as as essential to its rise as a regional and world power.

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WNU Editor: That status quo was thrown out the window when North Korea conducted its hydrogen bomb test last month, and they made public their intention to develop a nuclear ICBM force that can target the U.S.. This new situation has put the Chinese in a very difficult position, and one that they are having trouble accepting. I know that it will take time for Beijing to digest what has happened in the past few months .... but the problem is that time is no longer on the table. When Chinese President Xi convinced President Trump in April that they needed a hundred days to formulate a policy to handle North Korea .... they failed in delivering. This Chinese lost of face to President Trump cannot be underestimated .... and in a certain way it is driving Chinese policy today (i.e. try to minimise the importance of the North Korean threat). But like I said .... the status quo is no longer possible .... and time is running out.