On November 30, following North Korea’s fifth nuclear test, the UN Security Council passed new sanctions against North Korea. China’s state media Global Times (Huanqiu) then published an editorial to point out that whether the sanctions succeed or not is not up to China.

The article said, “Since China is the largest target for North Korea’s coal exports, the West and South Korea are of the opinion that China’s attitude is the key to whether the new Security Council resolution can be implemented and achieve its objectives. We have to say that this kind of thinking is problematic.”

“Regarding the sanctions against North Korea, China has suffered the most in terms of economic and diplomatic losses. China and North Korea maintained normal trade in the past, while the West and South Korea had almost zero contact with North Korea. China’s difficulty in controlling the long border between China and North Korea is not as simple as signing a name [on the resolution] in the same manner as the other countries that do not have trade relations with North Korea.”

“Time has proved that imposing severe sanctions will not work alone. The United States and South Korea need to take the initiative to improve North Korea’s security environment. Pyongyang feels the pressure of facing the risk of foreign subversion at any time. The United States and South Korea must try to seek a breakthrough in security and mutual trust with North Korea. Otherwise it will not work no matter what kind of sanctions are applied against North Korea. Do not expect North Korea to yield even if it becomes the world’s poorest country.”

“The fundamental reason for the deadlock on the North Korea nuclear issue is that the United States and South Korea cannot dialogue with North Korea. There is no mutual trust in each other. The more North Korea is rebellious, the more military exercises the U.S. and South Korea conduct and the more stringent are the sanctions that apply. In turn, North Korea responds with a more intense nuclear test. The two sides have dragged all of Northeast Asia into this conflict. The United States and South Korea always want China to increase the pressure on North Korea, or, even better, to have China and North Korea fight against each other so that they can wait and stand by to enjoy the results.”

“Now, the international community has reached an agreement on the new sanctions against North Korea, but all the parties still have very different ways of thinking [about how it may work], or even totally opposite ways. China proposes comprehensive management to resolve the nuclear issue, and all the parties involved assume their respective due responsibilities. Such a complex problem cannot be that one party is all wrong, while the others all seek a higher justice than God.”

“Sanctions have been so severe. If does not work again, the United States and South Korea should not complain about others actions. They should consider a good reflection of their own.”

Source: Global Times, November 30, 2016
http://opinion.huanqiu.com/editorial/2016-11/9753906.html

In a recent People’s Daily report, several Chinese scholars gave their opinions on the following question: The TPP agreement was originally seen as the United States’ Asian rebalancing strategy to contain China. Trump decided to change the U.S. policy and withdraw from the TPP. What effect will this have on the two sides?

According to Yuan Zheng, Director of the American Foreign Affairs Department at the American Studies Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, “The United States’ retreat from the TPP and the resulting policy adjustments greatly disappointed its allies. In fact, it damaged the United States’ political reputation and shattered the emotional balance of member countries.” Yuan cited the responses of leaders from a number of TPP member countries to support his observation; he said Japan was the most prominent one.

According to Wang Wen, Executive Director of the Finance Institute of Renmin University of China, “The U.S. exit from the TPP is not entirely a good thing for China. The future will present many challenges.” He did not think that the withdrawal of the United States from the TPP would entirely benefit China’s interests. Wang thought that the U.S. withdrawal would have two major effects. One is that it would change the expectation of a global trend in international trade. The expectation of the two major trade competitions between the U.S.-led regional trade liberalism and the China-led free trade zone would change. First, Trump may introduce new policies for future global trade. Therefore, global trade may become more uncertain. Second, China is in a critical period with both opportunities and challenges in development. It is very challenging for China to deal with the uncertainty of the international situation in the new era of unwinding the TPP. The original TPP member countries will continue to increase demands on China. It may enhance China’s trade discourse, but it will also increase China’s responsibilities and the burden on the global trade system.

Zhang Tengjun, a researcher at the American Studies Section of the International Studies Institute of China, also believed that the United States withdrawal from the TPP would relieve some pressure on China. However, what measures Trump will introduce to safeguard the interests of the United States in the Asia Pacific and even in international society remains to be seen.

Source: People’s Daily, November 29, 2016
http://world.people.com.cn/n1/2016/1129/c1002-28906034.html