China has reasons to like Trump’s North Korea outreach — and reasons to worry
Beijing may gain from reduced tensions and weaker alliance cohesion, even as direct US-DPRK talks threaten its influence
Xi Jinping, Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un | Image: UK Foreign Office, Trump White House Archived via Flickr (June 30, 2019), edited by NK Pro
President Donald Trump’s recent overtures to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un appear to progress several of China’s regional objectives: Washington has moved to scale back U.S.-South Korea military exercises, revived the prospect of direct diplomacy with Pyongyang and introduced new uncertainty into an alliance Beijing has long viewed as a constraint on its influence.
However, China’s reaction to date has been muted. Rather than openly welcoming the moves, Chinese commentary has largely taken a cautious approach, suggesting Beijing sees both opportunity and risk in a renewed U.S.-North Korea channel
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