Unraveling China-North Korea Relations

This article examines the Sino-North Korean border in the aftermath of the fifth North Korean nuclear test in September 2016. It looks first at Dandong, a second-tier city that has become the world’s primary hub for trade with North Korea, in spite of the regime in Pyongyang having given a cold shoulder to most of its public overtures. Dandong has also become a kind of (flawed, I argue) laboratory for journalists and analysts who wish to grapple with the actual substance of China-North Korea relations. The second section of the article argues that China's preparation for dealing with massive floods and deprevation in North Korea has been unjustly overlooked, and that looking only at one section of the border and monomania over sanctions enforcement risks obscuring our view of the (more interesting and strategically valuable) big picture.