North Korea Crisis Tests China’s New Global Role

North Korea's barrage of missile tests has put China in a tough spot, calling into question its policy of patient diplomacy and economic support aimed at encouraging change in Pyongyang.

The U.S., saying Beijing's response is a critical test of China's new high-profile role on the international stage, is urging China to alter course and use its considerable leverage as North Korea's most important trading partner to get Pyongyang to return to talks on its nuclear program.

China has long pushed a noninterference line at the United Nations while seeking good relations around the world through a determined policy of not questioning the internal affairs of countries like Sudan or Venezuela where it seeks oil or other raw materials. But Beijing has assumed a pivotal role in international efforts to wean Pyongyang away from nuclear weapons.

It is far from clear, however, whether even North Korea's rocket launches last week -- in the face of vocal Chinese opposition -- will be enough to overcome Beijing's extreme reluctance to use economic pressure as a diplomatic tool, especially against its communist ally.

A draft resolution that would impose some sanctions against North Korea could come up for a vote at the U.N. as soon as today.

U.S. President George W. Bush, speaking in Chicago on Friday, called on the U.N. Security Council to say "loud and clear, here are some red lines." Mr. Bush also touched on the reluctance of China and Russia to support a U.N. sanctions resolution.

"You know, some nations are more comfortable with sanctions than other nations, and part of the issue we face in some of these countries is that they've got economic interests," he said. The U.S., Mr. Bush said, is trying to convince these countries to see that "security-of-the-world interests trump economic interests."

Part of that job has fallen to Christopher Hill, the U.S. State Department's top diplomat for Asia, who met Friday with senior Chinese officials to express Washington's displeasure with North Korea's moves and to call for the resumption of disarmament talks.

Mr. Hill hurried to Beijing -- the first stop on a multiday trip to Asian capitals -- before a planned six-day trip to North Korea by China's vice premier, Hui Liangyu, set to start today.

Chinese officials expressed serious concern that North Korea's missile launches could encourage Japan to develop weapons to defend itself and lead to an arms race that could destabilize Northeast Asia, according to a senior U.S. official in Beijing. But the official said "there was nothing said" by the Chinese "that would indicate" they are ready to use the threat of economic sanctions to pressure Pyongyang.

U.S. officials say North Korea's decision to ignore warnings from China and others about the test firings shows that Beijing's policies aren't working. "I don't think anyone who believes in an engagement policy can take much of a sense of satisfaction in this," said the senior U.S. official in Beijing. "In the life of a nation, there are certain relationships...that it is time to leave behind."

Chinese diplomats at the U.N. have opposed action in the Security Council that would seek to bar North Korea from importing materials and parts that could be used in its weapons programs. Japan circulated a toughened draft resolution to that effect Friday.

China's U.N. ambassador, Wang Guangya, indicated that China wasn't pleased with the draft measure, which otherwise has widespread support. "If this resolution is put to a vote, definitely there will be no unity in the Security Council," he said, indicating that China would either veto the measure or abstain from voting.

Japan's foreign minister, Taro Aso, said yesterday that Russia may abstain from a vote, putting even more pressure on China as the sole one of the Security Council's 15 members standing in the way of passing the resolution.

India's test of a missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads yesterday could complicate diplomatic efforts to sanction North Korea, which is likely to complain that Pyongyang is the victim of a double standard.

China has successfully used arm-twisting in the past. In 2003, China temporarily shut down a pipeline carrying oil to North Korea, apparently in an attempt to pressure Pyongyang to participate in multilateral talks on its nuclear programs, U.S. and Asian diplomats have said. North Korea later agreed to join the negotiations.

To prod Beijing to toughen its stance this time, the U.S. has appealed to China's pride, saying it risks diminishing its international standing if it can't use its influence even to moderate the behavior of one of its closest neighbors.

When Mr. Bush last week called his Chinese counterpart, Hu Jintao, he said North Korea's missile tests represented a serious affront not just to the U.S., but also to China, U.S. officials said.

Washington also has said China's ability -- or inability -- to make headway with North Korea will be important in shaping the future of relations between Washington and Beijing. "This is an important time in the U.S.-China relationship," the senior U.S. official said. "If they are successful, it will be considered a sign that China has indeed arrived."

China is North Korea's largest supplier of both food and energy. Two-way trade between the neighbors has grown rapidly, hitting $1.58 billion last year. The vast majority of consumer goods in North Korea's markets are from China. The country's air force can't fly its planes without Chinese jet fuel.

It was business as usual at border-crossing points between China and North Korea Friday, Chinese traders said. Convoys of trucks laden with supplies rumbled over the steel-girder bridge that connects the Chinese city of Dandong with North Korea.

"We don't expect China to take drastic actions. Ties between China and North Korea are too close," said one Chinese businesswoman who handles North Korean imports and exports. Another trader said: "Our North Korean clients are very worried. But we tell them that our trade won't be affected."

For reasons of principle and pragmatism, however, China generally has been loath to use its economic clout to pressure Pyongyang to make concessions. The ideological cornerstone of Chinese foreign policy is that countries shouldn't interfere in one another's internal affairs. Beijing also has a long history of opposition to the use of economic sanctions.

In the case of North Korea, Chinese policy makers fear that too much pressure could cause the collapse of the regime of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, potentially leading to military conflict, refugee flows and economic dislocation.

On the other hand, bolstering the economy and sustaining Mr. Kim's control are seen as ways to foster a gradual shift to market economics and more openness in North Korea, while maintaining the country as an independent buffer between China and the region's U.S. military allies, South Korea and Japan.