China is betting that U.S. President Donald Trump won't make good on his threats of a military strike against North Korea, with Beijing continuing to provide a lifeline to Kim Jong Un's regime.
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson singled out China and Russia as "economic enablers" of North Korea after Kim on Friday test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile for the second time in a matter of weeks. While Tillerson said the U.S. wants a peaceful resolution to the tensions, the top American general called his South Korean counterpart after the launch to discuss a potential military response.
China on Saturday condemned the latest test while calling for restraint from all parties, a muted reaction to Pyongyang's progress on an ICBM that is capable of hitting the U.S. mainland. Despite Kim's provocations, analysts said that Beijing still sees the collapse of his regime as a more immediate strategic threat and doubts that Trump would pull the trigger, given the risk of a war with North Korea that could kill millions.