US calls on silent China to use influence on Russia, North Korea

WASHINGTON The United States and South Korea have called on China to use its influence over Russia and North Korea to prevent escalation after the crisis. Pyongyang sends thousands of troops to Russia to help Moscow war against Ukraine. So far, Beijing has remained silent.

In a rare meeting earlier this week, three senior U.S. diplomats met with China's ambassador to the United States to highlight U.S. concerns and urge China to use its influence with North Korea to try to restrict cooperation, according to a State Department official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday that the sides had an intense conversation this week “and that China knows that the United States expects them to use the influence they have to work to curb these activities.

“But I think this is a signal of demand that comes not just from us, but from countries around the world,” he said at a news conference in Washington with Secretary to the Lloyd Austin Defense 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 striving “to achieve peace talks and a political settlement of the Ukrainian crisis.” This position remains unchanged. China will continue to play a constructive role to this end, Liu said.

The United States says 8,000 North Korean troops are in Russia near the Ukrainian border and preparing to help the Kremlin. fight against Ukrainian troops in the coming days. China has not yet publicly commented on the decision.

Beijing has forged a limitless partnership with Moscowand although it is also a major ally of Pyongyang, experts say Beijing may not approve of a closer military partnership between Russia and North Korea because it sees it as destabilizing in the region.

The Russia-North Korea partnership runs counter to Beijing's goal of a peaceful Korean Peninsula, said Shi Yinhong, an international relations expert at Renmin University of China.

Beijing is aware of the complexity and danger of the situation, Shi said, noting that the fact that China has yet to say anything about the military alliance agreement between North Korea and Russia indicates that China strongly disagrees with this agreement.

Dennis Wilder, a senior fellow at the Initiative for U.S.-China Dialogue on Global Issues at Georgetown University, called Beijing's radio silence on North Korea's move astounding. President Xi Jinping might, for his own good, ignore all this.

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

At the same time, Xi cannot anger Europeans and Americans while his country's economy is struggling, Wilder said. So he won't say anything publicly about it, Wilder said.

Victor Cha, Korean president of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said at the same roundtable that for China, there's probably a combination of a little exasperation, a little panic and a little fear. not knowing what to do. do in view of the current situation.

It is unclear whether Beijing was informed in advance of Pyongyang's decision, Cha said. Beijing may also be concerned about Russia gaining more influence over North Korea than China, Cha said.

Austin said Thursday that China should at this point ask Russia tough questions and ask whether it intends to widen this conflict through this type of behavior.

Assistant 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 Tuesday with the envoy Chinese Xie Feng in Washington, according to the State Department official, who did not want to detail the Chinese response.

Lu Chao, director of the Institute of American and East Asian Studies at Liaoning University in northeast China's Liaoning province, said the United States should not expect China to manage North Korea.

It is not true that China is responsible for handling North Korea and the United States is responsible for handling South Korea, Lu said. I hope the US government can understand the position of China. »

Lu also said troop deployment was a matter between Russia and North Korea, while China's attitude remained unchanged that the conflict should not escalate.

AP researcher Yu Bing in Beijing contributed to this report.

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