Chinese leaders continued to communicate with parties concerned for a peaceful solution. While meeting with Kerry on April 13, Premier Li Keqiang said troublemaking on the Korean Peninsula issue would harm the interests of all parties concerned and is "nothing different from lifting a rock only to drop it on one's own toes."

"No matter what happens, China will stick to denuclearization and peace on the peninsula and settling the issue through dialogue," Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in talks with Kerry.

Misunderstandings

There are two kinds of misunderstandings about China's attitude toward the Korean Peninsula inside and outside the country. The first is that if the DPRK maintains its current stance, China should abandon it. The other is that China has been refusing to mount substantial pressure and failed to uphold its responsibility of maintaining peace and stability on the peninsula. Both viewpoints are incorrect, and ignore the reality that all related parties have their own obligations.

Some Chinese believe that the DPRK, the ROK and the United States have sabotaged the regional situation. They argue China's role in this issue is very limited, and it has no need to rush to the frontier of dealing with the problem. This viewpoint is based on a lack of clarity into China's geopolitical interests and self-confidence about China's influence.

The Korean Peninsula is adjacent China, and the DPRK is a neighbor with which China has a long-term special relationship. China's responsibility of sustaining peace on the peninsula is too important to allow the country to neglect the problem. China has no chance to change its current stance on the DPRK, which is of neither indulgence nor abandonment. China will be the first to take collateral damage if unexpected events occur on the peninsula. Furthermore, a messy and unstable peninsula situation will certainly have a negative influence on China's diplomatic strategy.

The Chinese have different opinions about Washington's perceived intention to create turmoil or disorderliness on the peninsula. Some say that the fundamental conflict on the Korean Peninsula is between China and the United States, and the current crisis is actually a contest between the two big powers. This is a dangerous logic. The fact is that the peninsula has become the most important arena for China and the United States to cooperate with each other and coordinate their interests in the Asia-Pacific region.

Future actions

The root of the Korean Peninsula issue is a deep conflict between Washington and Pyongyang. In other words, it is Washington and Pyongyang that hold the key to resolving the issue. But it requires Chinese influence as well as Sino-U.S. cooperation to encourage that key to be turned.

There's reason to believe China will adjust its focus from making its voice heard to engaging in effective mediation. It will try its best to work in concert with other parties to bring about a turnaround in the regional situation.

To realize this goal, China may use its advantages in bilateral communication and trade relations to persuade the DPRK, the ROK and the United States to avoid inflammatory words and actions and return to the negotiating table as soon as possible.

For China, dialogue is the only method of stopping war and cooling regional tensions. It is necessary for all parties to continue to shed their pride and moderate their expectations in terms of setting preconditions prior to restarting dialogue. If Washington clings to its stance that the DPRK must abandon nuclear capabilities before dialogue can begin, all parties should prepare for a potentially disastrous ending.

The author is an op-ed contributor to Beijing Review

Email us at: yanwei@bjreview.com