US-North Korea Tension: Beijing Tries Balancing Act

Amid escalating tensions between the United States and North Korea, President Donald Trump has got support from his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping after he expressed disappointment with China on several instances for not being able to curb Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions.

The presidents of the two countries discussed Pyongyang over a phone call, and Jinping asserted Beijing was ready to work with the U.S. to resolve the issue, Chinese state-run Global Times reported Saturday. However, he also urged for restraint from the concerned parties.

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A statement was also issued by the White House about the phone call that said the two leaders agreed that "North Korea must stop its provocative and escalatory behavior."Jinping's advice to Trump over maintaining restraint comes after the U.S. president threatened North Korea in a tweet Friday where he said the U.S. military was "locked and loaded."

It seems Beijing is trying to stay neutral amid the ongoing tensions between Washington and Pyongyang. On Friday, an editorial was published by the Global Times that said China should clear its stance on the rising U.S.-North Korea tensions.

The war of words has continued between the U.S. and the North over the last week. A day after Trump said North Korea would face “fire and fury” if it kept threatening the U.S., a warning was issued by North Korea where it threatened to strike the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam. Pyongyang's state media also said North Korea may strike Guam by the end of the August.

During the telephonic conversation, Trump and Jinping applauded the recent United Nations Security Council resolution targeting North Korea. They called it an “important and necessary step toward achieving peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula," according to the White House statement.

Soon after the U.N. resolution, North Korea accused the U.S. of "trying to drive the situation of the Korean peninsula to the brink of nuclear war," according to reports.

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At the ASEAN regional forum held Aug. 7, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi said Beijing would pay a heavy economic price for the tougher sanctions on North Korea. He added saying China is ready to pay the price, however, the aim of such sanctions should be to bring North Korea to the negotiating table. China has also blamed the U.S. and South Korea of obstructing that goal by insisting on pursuing joint military exercises, according to a report published by the New York.

Trump had called on Beijing in the past to exert its control over North Korea, its trading partner, on several instances. He expressed disappointment over China not doing enough in this regard in July.

"I think China can do a lot more," Trump recently told reporters. He added: "And I think China will do a lot more."

China has been serving as an economic lifeline for the North through decades. Beijing allows fuel and coal to cross the shared border of the two countries and provides large quantities of food aid to its neighbor. The editorial in Global Times also said China should heed its interests by trying to avoid a massive, destabilizing war on the Korean Peninsula, which is its backyard.