As Trump Unnerves Asia, China Sees an Opening
that A striking impression is how little China sees the threats by either North Korea or Trump as credible,
Over all, the Chinese leadership — which is accustomed to belligerence from North Korea, its estranged ally — does not believe Mr. Trump would
actually carry out his threat to strike North Korea, said Yun Sun, a senior associate at the East Asia program at the Stimson Center.
And while North Korea and the United States are hardly equals, China is likely to
similarly dismiss Mr. Trump’s "rhetorical war" against the North, Ms. Sun said.
10, 2017
BEIJING — With America’s Asian allies unnerved by President Trump’s threat to bring "fire
and fury" to North Korea, China sees a chance to capitalize on the fear and confusion and emerge as the sober-minded power in the region, according to analysts who study the Chinese leadership.
Too often, he said, the United States has declared it would use force to stop something from happening — such as China’s expansion in the South China Sea,
and during President Barack Obama’s administration, Syria’s use of chemical weapons — and has failed to do so.
Hugh White said that The Chinese don’t like North Korea’s nuclear program,
but the current situation does serve their longer-term interests in eroding American leadership, because it provides a whole new set of circumstances in which America shows its weakness,