Xi Jinping (R), general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and Chinese president, holds talks with Kim Jong Un, chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) and chairman of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), in Dalian, northeast China's Liaoning Province, on May 7-8. (Photo: Xinhua)
China is one of the major powers that have played an important role in the pursuit of peace on the Korean Peninsula. In order to keep the momentum towards denuclearization and peace on the peninsula, it calls on all relevant parties to cherish the hard-won situation.
Twice in recent weeks, Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks with Kim Jong Un, leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).
They reached a consensus on achieving a political resolution to the peninsula nuclear issue.
And China played a crucial role in getting to this place.
Professor Gao Hong from Chinese Academy of Social Sciences said that even back to the time of the six-party talks, China played an active part.
“Its basic standpoint was promoting dialogue, instead of confrontation. This has never changed although the six-party mechanism was hampered in recent years,” said Gao.
To achieve peace, China now has made two proposals.
One is called “suspension-for-suspension", which involves the suspension of the DPRK’s nuclear and missile activities, and the suspension of joint military exercises by the US and South Korea.
Another proposal is “dual-track”, a call for denuclearization, while establishing protocols to achieve peace, and preserve it.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (2nd from L) attends a meeting with DPRK Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho in Pyongyang on May 2, 2018.(Photo: VCG)
Rong Yibing, vice president of China Institute of International Studies said that the proposals play important roles to achieve peace through dialogues.
He said that they have been recognized by the parties involved, including DPRK, ROK, Japan and the US.
The US took credit for the DPRK’s recent offer to denuclearize, which was announced in the Panmunjom. But, Washington also vowed to maintain pressure on the DPRK, until complete denuclearization is achieved.
China said this hard-won situation needs a different approach.
A spokesperson said in a recent press briefing that China calls on all parties to follow the dual-track approach, advance the political settlement process on the Peninsula issue, address all relevant parties’ legitimate concerns in a balanced manner, and jointly open up a future of lasting peace and stability for the Korean Peninsula.
From the six-party talks until now, China has never wavered in its efforts to achieve peace.
This is also seen in the trilateral leaders' meeting in Tokyo, as Chinese Premier Li Keqiang joined hands with other regional leaders to keep momentum going in a positive direction.
As Li said, all parties involved should take the opportunity to maintain dialogue and improve ties to achieve long-term peace on the peninsula. China has vowed to continue playing a constructive role.