Trump Warns China That He Is Willing to Pressure North Korea on His Own

The New York Slimes ^ | July 3, 2017 | Mark Landler and Javier C. Hernández

[E. Pluribus Unum]

WASHINGTON — President Trump, frustrated by China’s unwillingness to lean on North Korea, has told the Chinese leader that the United States is prepared to act on its own in pressuring the nuclear-armed government in Pyongyang, according to senior administration officials.

Mr. Trump’s warning, delivered in a cordial but blunt phone call on Sunday night to President Xi Jinping, came after a flurry of actions by the United States — selling weapons to Taiwan, threatening trade sanctions and branding China for human trafficking — that rankled the Chinese and left little doubt that the honeymoon between the two leaders was over.

American officials, who would not be named talking about the continuing dialogue with the Chinese, said they hoped the tough measures would prompt Mr. Xi to reconsider his reluctance to press the North. But Mr. Trump, one official said, now has fewer illusions that China will radically change its approach to its reclusive neighbor, which is driven more by fear of a chaotic upheaval there than by concern about its nuclear and missile programs.

That leaves the president in a familiar bind on North Korea as he prepares to leave for a Group of 20 meeting this week in Germany, where he will meet Mr. Xi as well as the leaders of Japan and South Korea, nations Mr. Trump has also turned to in navigating his approach to the North.

[enduserindy]

I don’t think nukes in say just Japan would start this war. I do think it would postpone it.

[BeauBo]

“IMO, the Chinese are using North Korea as a way to keep our pressure off of their massive, and growing, trade surplus with America.”

BINGO! We have a winner.

Apparently, Trump was clear about this (long) before taking office. He met with President Xi in Mar a Largo, and gave him 100 days (nice Chinese touch there) to do the job in North Korea - knowing that the Chinese Communists never had any intention of complying.

Well, that time is up in mid-July, and the hammer is fixing to start dropping on China. All the many deserved economic sanctions that they have escaped using the ploy of their North Korean attack dog will start coming due.

Peter Navarro and Wilbur Ross have no doubt been wargaming the rollout of economic measures against the Communists for sometime, so it will be interesting to watch.

The bottom line is that the USA needs to stop tolerating the massive State-sponsored lying, cheating and stealing by the Chinese Communists anyway, so this modest 100 day opportunity to reform was just a formality, to deflect the expected criticism of what is about to happen.

[octex]

Good comments regarding the economics of the situation.

Don’t overlook the fact that China uses North Korea as a buffer zone for its security, just like Canada uses the USA. Spit!

[Starboard]

China may be willing to discuss that kind of deal, but they will never take steps to implement it. Words mean nothing. Commitment followed by action is all that matters.

China knows how to stall and drag things out to their advantage. So far, it is working for them, but not for us.

[sarge83]

This is Trump’s trump card, a nuclear Japan will scare all of east Asia. They all remember Japans violent past. China in particular doesn’t want this.