US calls on a silent China to use its sway over Russia and North Korea
UNB
Publish: 01 Nov 2024, 02:46 PM
WASHINGTON,
Nov 1 (AP/UNB) - The U.S. and South Korea have called on China to use its
influence over Russia and North Korea to prevent escalation after Pyongyang
sent thousands of troops to Russia to aid Moscow's war against Ukraine. Beijing
has so far stayed quiet.
In a rare meeting
earlier this week, three top U.S. diplomats met with China's ambassador to the
United States to emphasize U.S. concerns and urge China to use its sway with
North Korea to try to curtail the cooperation, according to a State Department
official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Secretary of State
Antony Blinken said Thursday that the sides had "a robust conversation
just this week" and that China knows U.S. expectations are that
"they'll use the influence that they have to work to curb these
activities."
"But I think this
is a demand signal that's coming not just from us, but from countries around
the world," he said at a news conference in Washington with Defense
Secretary Lloyd Austin and their South Korean counterparts.
Liu Pengyu, spokesman
for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, said in a statement that China's
position on the Ukraine crisis is "consistent and clear."
China strives "for
peace talks and political settlement of the Ukraine crisis. This position
remains unchanged. China will continue to play a constructive role to this
end," Liu said.
The U.S. says 8,000
North Korean soldiers are in Russia near Ukraine's border and are preparing to
help the Kremlin fight against Ukrainian troops in the coming days. China has
yet to publicly comment on the move.
Beijing has forged a
"no limits" partnership with Moscow, and while it has also been a
major ally for Pyongyang, experts say Beijing might not approve of the closer
military partnership between Russia and North Korea because it sees it as
destabilizing in the region.
The Russia-North Korea
partnership runs contrary to Beijing's goal for a peaceful Korean Peninsula,
said Shi Yinhong, an international relations expert at China's Renmin
University.
Beijing is "aware
of the complexity and danger of the situation," Shi said, noting that the
"fact that China hasn't said anything yet on the military alliance
agreement between North Korea and Russia indicates that China strongly
disagrees with it."
Dennis Wilder, senior
fellow for the Initiative for U.S.-China Dialogue on global issues at
Georgetown University, called Beijing's "radio silence" on North
Korea's move "staggering." He said Beijing must find a balance
between supporting Moscow and not angering the West, and that Chinese President
Xi Jinping might "for his own sake ignore the whole thing."
Xi has built a personal
relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and "he cannot see
Putin fail," Wilder said this week at a panel discussion hosted by the
Washington-based think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies.
At the same time, Xi
cannot anger the Europeans and Americans when his country's economy is
struggling, Wilder said. "So he's not going to say anything publicly about
this," Wilder said.
Victor Cha, Korean chair
at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said at the same panel
discussion that for China, "there's probably a combination of a little bit
of exasperation, a little bit of panic and a little bit of they don't know what
to do with regard to the current situation."
It's unclear if Beijing
was informed of Pyongyang's move in advance, Cha said. Beijing also could fret
over Russia gaining more influence than China over North Korea, Cha said.
Austin said Thursday
that China "should be asking Russia some hard questions at this point and
whether it intends to broaden this conflict by this kind of behavior."
Deputy Secretary of
State Kurt Campbell, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific
Affairs Dan Kritenbrink and Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs
James O'Brien met with Chinese envoy Xie Feng in Washington on Tuesday,
according to the State Department official, who would not detail the Chinese
response.
Lu Chao, director of the
Institute of American and East Asian Studies at Liaoning University in China's
northeastern province of Liaoning, said the U.S. should not expect China to
manage North Korea.
"It is not the case
that China is responsible to manage North Korea and the U.S. is responsible for
managing South Korea," Lu said. "I hope the U.S. government could
understand China's stance."
Lu also said the troop
deployment is "a matter between Russia and North Korea," while
China's attitude remains unchanged that the conflict should not be escalated.
End/UNB/AP/su