Mao Zedong characterized the relationship between China and North Korea as that of “lips and teeth.” His point was that the lips provide a buffer to the teeth: Without them, China would be dangerously exposed. Despite the occasional toothache, that relationship has endured. China is North Korea’s only treaty ally. It is by far North Korea’s largest trading partner. And it continues to refer to the Korean War—which was started, by the way, when North Korea invaded South Korea—as the “War to Resist Aggression and Aid Korea.” (If you find yourself in Dandong, on the Chinese-North Korean border, make sure to check out the Korean War Museum there for the full propagandistic experience.)
So it’s always been a bit fanciful to think that Beijing will do what the rest of the world wants and really clamp down on North Korea. Despite hopeful signs over the last year—stepped up enforcement of U.N. sanctions on Pyongyang, for example—a change in approach would require a radical rethinking of the Chinese-North Korean relationship on the part of Beijing.
That’s not happening any time soon, as recent events have shown. For one, Kim Jong-un was just received warmly by Chinese president Xi Jinping on an unannounced trip to Beijing, Kim’s first trip abroad since taking over. And an editorial in the Global Times, a Communist Party newspaper, positively gushes about the Stalinist state of North Korea.
The Global Times, despite its oddly cosmopolitan name, represents the id of the Chinese Communist Party. It’s the down-market tabloid cousin of the more staid People’s Daily. Its editorials are worth reading, because they represent the views of the more hawkish members of the party. And with uber-nationalist Xi Jinping in charge, it is precisely those hawks who have outsize influence in Beijing these days.
Wednesday’s whole editorial is worth reading. But here are a few highlights, for those who can’t stomach it. “Despite trials and hardships, the basic elements of friendly China-North Korea ties are solid and unshakable,” the Global Times wrote.
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The paper also warns that, “Some international forces have been attempting to obstruct and undermine China-North Korea relations. They affix a variety of labels to the friendship between Beijing and Pyongyang, and spread rumors that distort bilateral relations. However, the deep roots of the China-North Korea relationship are solid beyond their imagination.”
Almost like lips and teeth, you might say.
