China: Sanctions won't resolve North Korea tensions

BEIJING, Feb. 19 (UPI) -- China is voicing concerns after U.S. President Barack Obama signed a bill imposing tougher sanctions on North Korea.

The bill, which aims to cut the last remaining lifelines to Pyongyang's nuclear weapons and missile technology, will blacklist third-party individuals and entities that engage in North Korea trade.

Many of the targets are likely to be Chinese enterprises. Banks and trading firms along the North Korea-China border with offices in Dandong would be found in violation of U.S. sanctions.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told reporters Friday the Chinese government opposes any actions that would worsen conditions in North Korea, Yonhap reported.

Hong said the situation on the Korean peninsula is "complicated and precarious," and it would be best to stay "cool-headed" in order to not "aggravate the situation."

China also does not believe "mere sanctions" or pressure can resolve any issue, Hong said, adding the interest of a "third-party country," China, is not being supported.

The United States has asked China to place heavier trade bans at the border, including an oil embargo, The Financial Times reported.

But stronger sanctions could cripple North Korea's fragile economy, which could lead to destabilization and even collapse – events that China would prefer to prevent along its border.

China is also a traditional ally of Pyongyang, and economic partnerships have a long history.

But Washington and Seoul are seeking China's push at the United Nations Security Council, in order to pass stronger measures against North Korea.

Bonnie Glaser, an analyst at the Center for International and Strategic Studies in Washington, D.C., said the Chinese might have been "quite surprised that the United States came to them with such a big ask."

"They were expecting something along the lines of what had been done in the past — a marginally tougher U.N. Security Council resolution and tough rhetoric, and move on."

On Wednesday, Deputy Secretary of State Tony Blinken said the United States wants China to use its leverage over North Korea, but if Beijing does not move, the United States has other options, including the deployment of an anti-missile defense system, THAAD, in South Korea.