ABSTRACT
The Six-Party Talks (6PT), and before that, the Four-Party Talks (4PT), concern international efforts to pressure and entice North Korea into giving up its nuclear weapons-making capabilities. China’s approaches to both series of talks demonstrate an attempt to balance its stated foreign policy principles of respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states, non-aggression, and non-interference in states’ internal affairs, which explains its reluctance to coerce North Korea through conditionality on aid and trade, and a more recent foreign policy priority of establishing an image of China as a responsible and pragmatic power willing to cooperate with all countries regardless of their political systems, for the interest of preserving and advancing peace and stability, foremost in its neighborhood region. 1 This balance means that, although China will not endorse or implement policies that it believes could create instability or threaten its continued influence on the Korean peninsula, it will also not tolerate North Korea’s erratic and dangerous behavior that may pose a real risk of conflict. 2 Through involvement in the 6PT, China hopes to demonstrate its commitment to multilateralism and exert influence in its Northeast Asian neighborhood.
