Does China now consider North Korea an enemy?

In the past, whenever North Korea launched a missile or conducted a nuclear test, it would inform china, its longtime ally. But it seems this may no longer be the case.

According to Chinese officials, the North's latest Ballistic Missile test on Friday was conducted without notifying China. This set the Chinese government on edge and infuriated its people, according to CBC.

Zhao Tong, an expert on North Korea at Beijing's Carnegie-Tsinghua Centre for Global Policy, said that Kim Jong-un’s regime is now viewed by China as a major liability. Tong further explained that the North seemed to ignore the fact that they had already angered China because of their recent missile tests.

Is China and North Korea relationship growing sour?

China and North Korea have been allies - both historically and ideologically. But now many experts believe that the allegiance between the two countries will eventually collapse if the North does not end its missile tests and nuclear weapons programs.

Hua Chunying, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said that their government sacrificed a lot to dissuade the North from continuing its nuclear weapons program.

Just last week, China and Russia approved the fresh round of UN sanctions, including a cap on the export of oil products to Kim Jong-un’s regime. This particular sanction resulted in North Korea's fuel being limited by about 30 percent. Originally, the United States government wanted a "total ban" on oil exports to North Korea, as well as a freeze on the assets of Kim Jong-un, but both Russia and China refused these terms.

The new UN sanctions banned the importation of textile products from North Korea and limited the employment of North Korean workers overseas.

The sanctions would naturally cause the economy of North Korea to take a hit, forcing it to perhaps put an end to its missile tests and abandon its nuclear weapons programs. The new sanctions could actually cost Kim’s regime around 1.3 billion US dollars in lost revenue.

The new UN sanctions were approved by China after they were modified. China does not actually want North Korea’s economy to collapse. But in spite of its leniency towards North Korea, China has been dragged into a tougher stance. This followed the North firing ballistic missiles over Japanese territory and conducting a hydrogen bomb test, which angered the Chinese government and its people.

China’s countermeasures against the North's provocations

Cheng Xiaohe, the deputy director of Renmin University's Centre for China's International Strategic Studies, has a different opinion on the relationship between China and the North. According to Cheng Xiaohe, the mood has apparently shifted in China.

The biggest banks of China announced in the past week that they have already started cracking down. They have stopped accepting new transactions with individuals and companies from the North. There are also banks that began clearing out existing North Korean accounts.

In addition, Cheng Xiaohe explained that the Chinese government could actually implement a ‘total oil ban’ against Kim Jong-un’s regime if it continues with its provocation.