Conversation

12.28.21

Three Questions for China’s Neighbors

Richard J. Heydarian, Nirupama Rao & more
“China was, is, and will always be a good neighbor,” China’s leader Xi Jinping told ASEAN representatives in a November 2021 virtual meeting, after a series of conflicts over Beijing’s territorial claims in the South China Sea had raised tensions...

The Korean Peninsula after the U.S. Elections

Paul Haenle, Alexander Gabuev & more from Carnegie China
The result of the upcoming U.S. presidential election will directly impact how the United States, China, and Russia approach issues on the Korean Peninsula. How would a second Trump or first Biden administration deal with North Korea? How do...

Coronavirus and the Korean Peninsula

Paul Haenle, Zhao Tong & more from Carnegie China
As nations confront the pandemic, rumors of Kim Jong-un’s death and a flurry of North Korean missile tests injected even more uncertainty in the international landscape. How do views in Washington, Seoul, and Beijing differ or align on North Korea?...

Leaders of China, Japan and South Korea Will Work Together on Denuclearizing North Korea

Mari Yamaguchi
Time
China, Japan and South Korea agreed Wednesday to cooperate on ending North Korea’s nuclear program and promoting free trade, two hot-button issues challenging their region.

What Comes Next after the Panmunjom Summit?

Paul Haenle & Zhao Tong from Carnegie China
Kim Jong-un became the first North Korean leader to set foot in South Korea at the Panmunjom Summit in April 2018, setting the stage for President Trump’s meeting with Kim in June. Just days after the summit, Paul Haenle spoke with Tong Zhao, a...

Leaders of South Korea, Japan, China to Discuss North Korea

AP
Associated Press
The annual trilateral summit since 2008 will focus on North Korea and its nuclear weapons.

Conversation

04.25.18

Does China Want the Koreas to Reconcile?

Bo Zhiyue, Zhang Baohui & more
This Friday, April 27, the South Korean and North Korean leaders will meet in the demilitarized zone dividing their estranged countries to discuss improving relations and possibly even formally ending the Korean War, which has continued in the form...

China, Russia Welcome Korean Peace Efforts with Diplomacy in Overdrive

Christine Kim
Reuters
China’s President Xi Jinping offered encouragement for South Korea’s initiative to nurture peaceful engagement with North Korea, and Russia also expressed support, the South Korean official leading diplomatic efforts said on Thursday.

Conversation

03.13.18

When Trump and Kim Meet, What Will Xi Do?

Zha Daojiong, Sergey Radchenko & more
On March 8, South Korea’s National Security Advisor announced that Donald Trump had agreed to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un by May. Although now-ousted Secretary of State Rex Tillerson previously downplayed the announcement, a summit...

South Korea Moves to Ease Chinese Jitters over U.S.-North Korea Talks

Euan McKirdy
CNN
South Korean officials met with Xi about Trump-Kim Meeting.

Talks with North Korea? China Approves (No Matter the Outcome)

Jane Perlez
New York Times
When China hosted the last serious talks on North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, in the mid-2000s, the setting was a huge, hexagonal table covered in green felt, in a government guesthouse in Beijing.

Short Track: China's Wu Wins 500m in World Record Time

Simon Jennings
Reuters
Wu Dajing won China’s first Olympic gold medal in the men’s 500 meters on Thursday, setting a world record time of 39.584 seconds to beat South Korea’s Hwang Dae-heon.

Conversation

01.24.18

Is China Really a ‘Threat’ to the U.S.?

James Holmes, Zha Daojiong & more
In a move presaging tougher policies towards China, the Department of Defense’s National Defense Strategy announced that the “revisionist powers” China and Russia are the “central challenge to U.S. prosperity and security.” And on January 22, Donald...

China's Xi supports progress in inter-Korean talks: South Korea's Blue House

Reuters
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday welcomed recent progress in inter-Korean talks during a telephone call with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, the South’s Blue House said in a statement.

As Koreas Agree to Talk, China Ups Pressure on the North

CBS News
South Korea said Friday that both Koreas had agreed to hold their first talks in more than two years on Tuesday. 

China Inflicted a World of Pain on South Korea in 2017

Quartz
Perhaps no other country felt the economic cost of China’s wrath as South Korea did this year.

South Korean Coast Guard Fires 250 Rounds at Chinese Fishing Ships

CNN
South Korea's coast guard said it fired almost 250 rounds of ammunition from a machine gun and other weapons during a confrontation with dozens of Chinese fishing vessels Tuesday.

South Korean Coast Guard Fires 250 Rounds at Chinese Fishing Ships

South Korea's coast guard said it fired almost 250 rounds of ammunition from a machine gun and other weapons during a confrontation with dozens of Chinese fishing vessels Tuesday.

China’s Warplanes Hold Drill near Japan, South Korea, Taiwan

Associated Press
ABC
Chinese air force spokesman Shen Jinke said the air force dispatched bombers, fighters and reconnaissance planes through the Tsushima Strait to the Sea of Japan to “test its ocean combat ability.”

At South Korea-China Summit, South Korean Journalist Beaten Bloody

CNN
The summit was intended to cement improved relations after a frosty period of tension between China and South Korea.

Business Is Booming Between China, Japan and South Korea — the US Should Get in on It

Michael Ivanovitch
CNBC
China, Japan and South Korea account for a quarter of the world’s output of goods and services. Their combined trade surplus is currently running at an annual rate of $400 billion. They can recycle that trade income to finance, with interest, most...

Media

11.15.17

What Happened When Trump Met Xi?

Bonnie S. Glaser, Daniel R. Russel & more
An edited transcript of “ChinaFile Presents: What Happened When Trump Met Xi?” a discussion of Donald Trump’s five-country trip to Asia with Daniel Russel, Bonnie Glaser, and Orville Schell, moderated by Susan Jakes. The panel took place at Asia...

Viewpoint

11.08.17

Will Trump’s ‘Flattery Machine’ Work on Xi Jinping?

Orville Schell
Before winging off to Beijing, Trump managed to convince his staff and Korean President Moon to take him to the demilitarized zone (DMZ). Many of his aides were said to have been wary about the idea, fearing he might make some kind of provocative...

Viewpoint

11.07.17

Sticking to the Script, Trump Seems to Internalize It

Orville Schell
Slowly we are stitching our way across Asia on Donald J. Trump’s great five-nation oriental hegira. After a punishing 2:00 a.m. departure from Yokota Air Force Base outside Tokyo, we arrived this morning at Osan Air Base outside of Seoul, a reminder...

Conversation

11.02.17

Trump Goes to Asia

Ely Ratner, David Dollar & more
Chinese officials like to talk about practicing “win-win” diplomacy. Their American counterparts sometime joke that this means China wins twice. From November 3 to November 14, Donald Trump will visit Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, the Philippines,...

Sinica Podcast

09.22.17

North Korea Behind the Scenes

Kaiser Kuo, Jeremy Goldkorn & more from Sinica Podcast
North Korea is a mystery to nearly everyone—even those who have dedicated their lives to studying the country, including Korean experts based in Seoul, national security experts in Washington or Beijing, and a variety of foreigners who have spent...

Conversation

09.21.17

What Will China Do if the U.S. Attacks North Korea?

Shen Dingli, Bonnie S. Glaser & more
During a speech at the United Nations General Assembly on September 19, U.S. President Donald Trump warned that if North Korea threatened the United States or its allies, he would “totally destroy” the nation. As tensions continue to rise between...

South Korea Calls for Cutting North Korea’s Oil Supplies but Russia Is Reluctant

Michelle Ye Hee Lee
Washington Post
Amid escalating tensions in the Korean Peninsula, South Korean President Moon Jae-In sought Russian backing Wednesday for calls to block critical crude oil supplies to the North Korean regime after its latest nuclear test.

China Can Squeeze Its Neighbors When It Wants. Ask South Korea

Jethro Mullen
CNN
South Korean businesses have been suffering since early this year after the country angered the Chinese government with the deployment of a U.S. missile defense system. The victims include companies in tourism and retail, but also Hyundai (HYMTF),...

Sinica Podcast

07.24.17

Straight Talk on North Korea and China

Jeremy Goldkorn & Kaiser Kuo from Sinica Podcast
Lyle Goldstein, an associate professor and strategic researcher at the U.S. Naval War College’s China Maritime Studies Institute, is an expert on Chinese and Russian security strategies. He is also an insightful commentator on what is going on...

China Renews Call for Seoul to Halt THAAD amid ‘Shocking’ News of New Launchers

CNBC
China’s state-owned media on Thursday criticized reports new THAAD anti-missile launchers were secretly brought into South Korea without approval from the Seoul government.

China Renews Call for Seoul to Halt THAAD amid ‘Shocking’ News of New Launchers

CNBC
China’s state-owned media on Thursday criticized reports new THAAD anti-missile launchers were secretly brought into South Korea without approval from the Seoul government.

China’s Missile Tests in Bohai ‘Aimed at THAAD’

Minnie Chan
South China Morning Post
Chinese rocket forces tested a new type of missile aimed at the country’s waters west of the Korean peninsula, the defense ministry announced in a rare public statement. The statement did not say what missile was tested or when the launch took place...

China Tells U.S. and North Korea to ‘Stop Irritating Each Other’

Ben Blanchard
Independent
China has called on all parties in the Korean standoff to stay calm and “stop irritating each other” a day after North Korea said the United States was pushing the region to the brink of nuclear war.

Holiday Hush as Chinese Tourists Shun South Korean Resort Island amid THAAD Missile Shield Row

liu zhen
South China Morning Post
During the May Day holiday, the Jeju Cruise Terminal in South Korea used to be packed with thousands of passengers from the ports of Shanghai, Tianjin and Qingdao disembarking from large cruise liners and boarding their tourist buses.

China Tried to Hack Group Linked to Controversial Missile Defense System, U.S. Cybersecurity Firm Says

Joshua Berlinger, Juliet Perry
A cybersecurity firm in the United States believes state-sponsored Chinese hackers were trying to infiltrate an organization with connections to a U.S.-built missile system in South Korea that Beijing firmly opposes.

The North Korea Rhetoric Is Angry -- but Is Conflict Closer?

Joshua Berlinger, Brad Lendon
CNN
U.S. warships and submarines are on the move. North Korea has carried out its largest ever live-fire drill. Washington and Pyongyang are trading inflammatory rhetoric on a weekly basis.

Is China Too Tough a Steel Beast for Trump to Tame?

Manolo Serapio Jr, Muyu Xu
Reuters
China exported 620,000 tonnes of steel direct to the United States last year, a fraction of the 800 million tonnes it produces each year, equal to about half of world output.

China’s Korea Policy ‘in Tatters’ as Both North and South Defy Sanctions

Washington Post
On Monday, South Korea announced that it would press ahead with the “swift deployment” of a U.S. missile defense system, despite vociferous Chinese opposition.

What Happened at Mar-a-Lago?

Paul Haenle & Zha Daojiong from Carnegie China
One week before their first in-person meeting, President Trump told the world on Twitter that he expected the dialogue with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to be “a very difficult one” unless China was prepared to make major concessions on issues...

Trump Thought China Could Get North Korea to Comply. It’s Not That Easy.

Amanda Erickson
Washington Post
Beijing’s nightmare scenario is a collapse of the Kim regime, which could also open the door to reunification with South Korea, another nightmare for Beijing.

China and South Korea Said to Promise Tougher Sanctions if North Conducts Tests

Choe Sang-Hun
New York Times
China and South Korea agreed on Monday to impose tougher sanctions on North Korea if it carries out nuclear or intercontinental ballistic missile tests

South Korean Automakers Cut China Production amid Missile Dispute

Hyunjoo Jin
Reuters
South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co and Kia Motors Corp have sharply cut vehicle production in China, sources said, as anti-Korean sentiment and competition from Chinese brands play havoc on sales and threaten earnings.

Trump’s First Test in Asia, Part II

Paul Haenle & Michael Green from Carnegie China
While President Trump appoints new officials to his administration and reviews policy frameworks, Asia-Pacific leaders are moving ahead. Since taking office, Trump has grappled with consequential developments in the region, ranging from North Korea’...

China, South Korea Meet in World Cup Qualifier Amid Tensions

NBC News
The soccer match whipped up Chinese nationalist sentiment at a time of high political tension over the rollout of a U.S.-made missile defense system in Asia.

Why China Stoking up Anger over South Korea Missile System Is Doomed to Fail

Josh Ye
South China Morning Post
Encouraging boycotts of South Korean goods won’t stop Seoul deploying the defence shield, but will sour an economically valuable relationship, observers say

China and America Need a One-Korea Policy

Michael D. Swaine
Foreign Policy
The only way to stop North Korea is by guaranteeing the peninsula will eventually be united—and non-aligned.

South Korea Complains to WTO about China over THAAD

BBC
South Korea has appealed to the World Trade Organization to determine if the Chinese government is treating South Korean companies unfairly.

Rex Tillerson and Xi Jinping Meet in China and Emphasize Cooperation

Jane Perlez
New York Times
Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson and President Xi Jinping of China cast aside their differences on Sunday with a public display of cooperation, sidestepping areas of disagreement even as North Korea made another defiant statement by showing off a...

Next Stop Beijing: Tillerson Seeks to Press China on North Korea

Nick Wadhams
Bloomberg
The U.S. is hoping the urgency of North Korea’s advancing ballistic-missile technology will compel China to crack down on banks and other businesses that provide an economic lifeline to Kim Jong Un’s regime despite United Nations sanctions.

Missile Row Drives Korean Culture Underground in China

Adam Jourdan and Joyce Lee
Reuters
The mainland chill on Korean content that follows Seoul’s decision to deploy a missile defense system is driving Chinese fans to get their “K-culture” fixes on peer-to-peer platforms instead of mainstream sites.

Here’s Who Will Benefit from the Beijing-Seoul Fallout

Huileng Tan
CNBC
Currently, South Korea’s decision to allow the U.S. to deploy an advanced missile defense system on the peninsula has culminated in a series of retaliatory measures from Beijing. South Korean firms have already started investing in the fast-growing...

Tillerson to Press China on North Korea in Tough First Asia Trip

David Brunnstrom and Yeganeh Torbati
Reuters
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson faces a tough first trip to Asia this week when he will seek to reassure nervous allies facing North Korea’s growing nuclear and missile threat and press China to do more

Books

03.13.17

The End of the Asian Century

Michael Auslin
Since Marco Polo, the West has waited for the “Asian Century.” Today, the world believes that Century has arrived. Yet from China’s slumping economy to war clouds over the South China Sea and from environmental devastation to demographic crisis, Asia’s future is increasingly uncertain. Historian and geopolitical expert Michael Auslin argues that far from being a cohesive powerhouse, Asia is a fractured region threatened by stagnation and instability. Here, he provides a comprehensive account of the economic, military, political, and demographic risks that bedevil half of our world, arguing that Asia, working with the United States, has a unique opportunity to avert catastrophe—but only if it acts boldly. Bringing together firsthand observations and decades of research, Auslin’s provocative reassessment of Asia’s future will be a must-read for industry and investors, as well as politicians and scholars, for years to come. —Yale University Press{chop}

Lotte Stores Feel Chinese Wrath as South Korea Deploys U.S. Missile System

Javier C. Hernandez, Owen Guo, and...
New York Times
A wave of anti-South Korean sentiment has broken out across China after the South’s embrace of an American missile defense system that China says can be used to spy on its territory.

Conversation

03.09.17

Is THAAD the Start of a U.S.-China Arms Race?

Isaac Stone Fish, Graham Webster & more
In late February, U.S. President Donald Trump called for adding $54 billion to the U.S. military budget—an increase of roughly 10 percent. And in early March, despite outcry from Beijing, the United States began deploying the Terminal High-Altitude...

China Wants to Avert ‘Head-on Collision’ in the Koreas, but Will Trump Sign on?

Emily Rauhala
Washington Post
China’s foreign minister has a plan to ease tensions in East Asia: North Korea should stop testing missiles, and the United States and South Korea should stop joint military exercises, he said Wednesday.

As Leaders Argue, South Korea Finds China Is No Longer an Easy Sell

Motoko Rich
New York Times
Now, as the deployment of the system begins this week and China threatens to punish South Korea further, companies like Beyond Cosmetics have been bracing for worse.

North Korea Tests Four More Missiles—and China’s Patience

Emily Rauhala
Washington Post
At 7:36 a.m. Monday, local time, North Korea launched four missiles that flew about 600 miles over land before splashing into the Sea of Japan.

China Reacts with Anger, Threats After South Korean Missile Defense Decision

Ben Blanchard
Reuters
Chinese state media have reacted with anger and boycott threats after the board of an affiliate of South Korea’s Lotte Group approved a land swap with the government that allows authorities to deploy a U.S. missile defense system