China wants to eliminate US allies in Asia

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Photo: AP

A former US government official even said that US President Donald Trump's decision to stop military exercises around the Korean peninsula in June stemmed from the growing influence of China and Russia.

Inter-Korean summit. Photo: Getty

Meanwhile, analysts warn that with Chinese President Xi Jinping reportedly planning his first visit to Pyongyang on September 9, the 70th anniversary of North Korea's founding, Beijing could use denuclearization talks to gradually eliminate Washington's allies in Asia.

Pompeo’s visit to North Korea comes at a crucial time for China. “China sees itself as a legitimate major power in the region,” said Jung Pak, a North Korea expert at the Brookings Institution.

According to this expert, Beijing views the US deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense system in the region, and the possible trilateral security cooperation between the US, South Korea and Japan, as an attempt to contain China. This means that eliminating the US role in the region is in China's interests.

Analysts say that in exchange for cooperating with the US in the long-term goal of eliminating Pyongyang's nuclear weapons, Beijing could try to reduce the US military presence on the Korean Peninsula, by permanently suspending joint US-South Korea military exercises and excluding South Korea from the country where Washington installs the THAAD system.

Expert Michael Green, former official in charge of Asian affairs at the National Security Council under President George W. Bush, commented that China is plotting to cause division between the US and its Asian allies, especially South Korea and Japan.

Pak said that Chinese officials “tend to prioritize North Korea’s security concerns, believing that the US presence on the Korean Peninsula is threatening Pyongyang.”