US-North Korea Standoff: China Warns Against Any Military Escalation

A senior diplomat briefed the press in the capital, Beijing, on April 12, 2017.

The All-China Journalists’ Association organised a press salon in the Chinese capital, Beijing, on April 12, 2017. The theme was, “The Mar-a-Lago meeting: A new starting point for China-US relations.” Dr Ruan Zongze, Vice President of the China Institute of International Studies, a Senior Research Fellow and Editor-in-Chief of China International Studies, was the keynote speaker.

Revisiting the talks between Chinese President, Xi Jinping and his American counterpart, Donald Trump, at the Mar-a-Lago Retreat in Florida, USA, from April 6-7, 2017, Dr Zongze said it was quite unusual that the two leaders met for about seven hours. Often, such meetings last about 40 minutes, he noted. He said both nations need each other as their combined populations are about one fifth of the world’s total. On the current tense military standoff between the US and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, DPRK (North Korea), he described the situation as “very fragile.”

“The ongoing large-scale US military exercises in the Korean Peninsula are worrisome. DPRK’s nuclear capability was discussed at Mar-a-Lago with the Chinese leader restating the need for peace and stability in the peninsula,” Dr Zongze explained. “China’s most important domestic agenda now is the forthcoming 19^th Communist Party Congress later this year. A forum of the China-led Belt and Road Initiative and the ninth BRICS summit will also hold in the country this year,” he explained.    

Dr Zongze warne...