China's Perception and Policy about North Korea

ABSTRACT

Most Chinese share the American and South Koreans view that North Korea (DPRK) has a bad regime, opposing the North Korean nuclear and missile programs; but most Chinese do not see the North as an immediate and serious threat, including these nuclear and missile programs. Further, both the Chinese government and people want to maintain “normal” relations with the DPRK. In regional geopolitical and strategic views, most Chinese still see the U.S., Japan, and South Korea (ROK) as the “other bloc,” and Russia, China, and the DPRK as the loosely different group in Northeast Asia; and the Chinese do not want to change this regional structure.

KEYWORDS:

• China
• China-Korea Relations
• DPRK
• Korean Peninsula
• North Korea
• U.S.-China Relations

Notes

Li Jiabao and Wu Jiao, “FTA Expected this Year,” China Daily 4 July 2014, A1; Li Jiabao and Wu Jiao, “The Joint Statement of the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Korea,” Renmin Ribao (People's Daily) 4 July 2014, 2.

“Highlights of Xi's Speech,” China Daily 5 July 2014, A1. “President Xi Jinping's Speech at Seoul National University,” Renmin Ribao 5 July 2014, 2.

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Notes on contributors

Chu Shulong

Chu Shulong is a Professor of Political Science and International Relations at the School of Public Policy and Management and is the deputy director of the Institute of International Strategic and Development Studies at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China. He is also a Professor at China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Party School and an advisor to China's Central Television (CCTV) international reporting. He is also an adjunct researcher at Center for Cross-Taiwan Strait Studies under China State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office. Dr. Chu's major areas of research are international security, U.S. foreign strategy and China policy, Sino-U.S. relations, China's foreign and security strategies, and cross-Taiwan Strait relations.