CHINA US Focus - Perspectives shaping the world's most important bilateral relationship

While tensions on the Korean Peninsula have slowly began to dissipate, Nathan Beuchamp-Mustafaga delves into the complex issue of how China uses North Korea as leverage in the U.S.-China relationship and provides policy responses for the United States.

The state of security in Northeast Asia will be counteractive to the state of Sino-US relations. Thus, increased cooperation in Northeast Asia will also provide a favorable opportunity and important platform to cultivate a new type of relations between China and the United States.

Secretary of State John Kerry recently traveled to China in order to encourage further pressure on Pyongyang. Although Beijing is clearly upset with North Korea, Doug Bandow believes that Zhongnanhai will only act if it is in China’s interest.

Chen Jimin outlines four challenges facing the Obama administration’s foreign policy agenda over the next four years. While the United States tends to view China as a direct competitor due to its rise in power, Jimin explains that other emerging economies will also challenge the United States’ status as a hegemon.

How China and the U.S. relationship benefits from the provocative behavior from North Korea remains to be seen. Yet in a meeting between John Kerry and China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi, an agreement was reached on finding a peaceful way to ensure a nuclear-free Korean peninsula.

While China is repeatedly mentioned as the country that can and should play a special role in solving the North Korean crisis, Wang Wenfeng writes that China has only limited leverage and influence over North Korea, and oftentimes it’s not what China wants, but whether North Korea listens.