6 April 2018

China and North Korea: Past, Present, and Future


With international attention focused on a potential U.S.-North Korea summit meeting in May, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made a surprise trip to Beijing in late March to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The North Korean leader’s visit to Beijing, his first foreign visit since assuming power in late 2011, came amid strained bilateral relations in recent years. Kim and Xi appear to have reinvigorated the historical bonds between the two countries and reaffirmed China’s crucial role in the future of the Korean Peninsula. This conference will explore the dynamics and tensions of the historical relationship between China and North Korea, the potential impact of Korean reunification on China, and China’s role in a limited military conflict and its aftermath. President Xi Jinping of China, left, and Kim Jong-un, North Korea’s leader, inspect an honor guard during a ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on March 26, 2018. (Korean Central News Agency via The New York Times)


China and North Korea Relations

This panel will examine the historical China-North Korea relationship, changes in political and security relations, and role of past and present economic ties on the future of the bilateral relationship.

Panelists
Jennifer Staats, Moderator
Director, East and Southeast Asia Programs, U.S. Institute of Peace
Associate Professor of History, Roanoke College
Professor of History, Long Island University Brooklyn
Visiting Senior Fellow, Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, Atlantic Council
Director and Associate Professor, Department of China’s Regional Strategy, National Institute of International Strategy, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, China 

BREAK
Panel 2, 10:30am - 12:00pm
Would a Reunified Korea under South Korean Leadership be Positive or Negative for China?

This panel will assess China’s position on the ideal end state for the Korean Peninsula and whether a reunified peninsula under South Korean leadership would be beneficial or detrimental to Chinese economic, political, and security interests given South Korean, Japanese and U.S. likely responses. 

Panelists
Senior Expert on North Korea, U.S. Institute of Peace
Co-Director, East Asia Program; Director, China Program, Stimson Center
Professor of International Relations and Executive Director, China Center for Collaborative Studies of the South China Sea, Nanjing University, China 
Director and Professor of Political Science, China Policy Institute, Ajou University, South Korea 
Associate Professor and Director of Asian Studies, Georgetown University
Senior Vice President for Asia and Japan Chair, Center for Strategic and International Studies 
Lunch Keynote Address, 12:00pm - 1:15pm
Ambassador Mark Lippert

Mark Lippert is a current member of the Board of Trustees at the Asia Foundation and former U.S. Ambassador to South Korea.

BREAK
Panel 3, 1:30pm - 3:15pm
War and its Aftermath on the Korean Peninsula – What Role Could China Play?

This panel will discuss the contours of a potential conflict on the Korean Peninsula, to include U.S. operations, how China may respond, and opportunities for cooperation. Participants will also examine Beijing’s role in shaping the post-war situation on the peninsula. 

Panelists
Mark Landler, Moderator
White House Correspondent, New York Times
Director, Asia Program, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
Former Deputy Commander, United Nations Command Korea
Assistant Professor of Security Studies, Georgetown University 
Jeanne Kirkpatrick Scholar, American Enterprise Institute

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