US calls on China to influence Russia, North Korea: NPR

WASHINGTON – The US 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 support Moscow’s war against Ukraine. Beijing has remained quiet so far.

In a rare meeting earlier this week, three top US diplomats met with China’s ambassador to the United States to highlight US concerns and urge China to use its influence over North Korea to limit cooperation , a State Department official said. 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 the U.S. expects “to use the leverage they have to curb these activities.”

“But I think this is a demand signal that comes 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, spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington, said in a statement that China’s position on the Ukraine crisis is “consistent and clear.”

China is seeking “peace talks and a political solution to the crisis in Ukraine. This position remains unchanged. China will continue to play a constructive role in this regard,” Liu said.

The US says 8,000 North Korean soldiers are in Russia near the Ukrainian border and are preparing to help the Kremlin battle Ukrainian forces in the coming days. China has not yet publicly responded to the measure.

Beijing has forged an ‘unlimited’ partnership with Moscow, and while it has also been a key ally for Pyongyang, experts say Beijing may not approve the closer military partnership between Russia and North Korea, seeing it as destabilizing in the region considers.

The partnership between Russia and North Korea runs counter 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 has not yet said anything about the North Korea-Russia military alliance agreement indicates that China has absolutely no agrees.”

Dennis Wilder, a senior fellow at the Initiative for US-China Dialogue on global issues at Georgetown University, called Beijing’s “radio silence” on North Korea’s action “stunning.” He said Beijing must strike a balance between supporting Moscow and not angering the West, and that Chinese President Xi Jinping “could ignore the whole thing for his own good.”

Xi has built a personal relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and “he cannot see Putin failing,” Wilder said this week during a panel discussion hosted by the Washington-based think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies.

At the same time, Xi cannot anger Europeans and Americans if his country’s economy is struggling, Wilder said. “So he’s not going to say anything publicly about this,” Wilder said.

Victor Cha, Korean chairman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said during the same panel discussion that for China, “there’s probably a combination of a little bit of annoyance, a little bit of panic and a little bit of them not.” know what to do regarding the current situation.”

It is unclear whether Beijing was aware of Pyongyang’s action in advance, Cha said. Beijing could also worry that Russia will gain more influence over North Korea than China, Cha said.

Austin said Thursday that China “should ask Russia some hard questions on this point and whether it intends to widen this conflict through 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, the official said. Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 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 Liaoning province, said the US should not expect China to govern North Korea.

“It is not that China is responsible for governing North Korea and the US is responsible for governing South Korea,” Lu said. “I hope the US government can understand China’s position.”

Lu also said the troop deployment is “a matter between Russia and North Korea,” while China’s stance remains unchanged that the conflict should not escalate.