LOS ANGELES -- In very important negotiations, the Chinese tend to work things in a manner different from the West. Their diplomats generally dislike framing positions in an edgy, confrontational, take-it-or-leave-it style. That approach strikes them as too risky. They tend to process an initial rebuff or outright rejection as engendering a loss of face, especially if they are committed to the negotiating framework.
Let us not forget that the six-party talks were China's idea and that they have been hosted in Beijing.
Accordingly, in a negotiation of consequence, they will shy away from public blustering. Their style is more like that of a slow-moving mafia boss who declines crude threats but instead works to suffuse the atmosphere with a humidity of both open empathy (yes, we understand that the imperialists are evil) and subtle pressure (even so, what better resolution can there be than what continued talks could produce?)
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