By Mu Chunshan
With Xi Jinping in the United States this week, North Korea should figure high on the agenda.
The media is paying close attention to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s trip to the United States, with a particular focus on an array of hot-button issues: the South China Sea, cybersecurity, the U.S.-China bilateral investment treaty negotiations, and the devaluation of China’s currency. Analysts say that a breakthrough on any of those topics could help defuse the tensions that developed in the relationship over the past few months. In that case, developing a “new type major country relationship” would be much more possible.
But in my view, an even more difficult period is awaiting Xi and U.S. President Barack Obama after Xi’s visit. That’s due to one factor that’s been largely overlooked in media discussions of Xi’s visit: North Korea.
On October 10, North Korea will celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Korean Workers’ Party (KWP). North Korea has already raised the possibility of launching a satellite (in truth, a long-range rocket) at that time, and has not ruled out conducting its fourth nuclear test. So as Xi visits the United States, the U.S. and China will undoubtedly share their views on the new round of tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
This is an important topic where Xi and Obama can forge a consensus. The U.S. and China will continue to jointly pressure North Korea, to prevent an extreme situation from arising on the peninsula. But China’s position will remain tactful, though its meaning will be clear: North Korea should not undertake provocations, and the rest of the world shouldn’t irritate North Korea.
Read the full story at The Diplomat