China and North Korea: Past, Present, and Future

With international attention focused on a potential U.S.-North Korea summit meeting in May, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made a surprise trip to Beijing in late March to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The North Korean leader’s visit to Beijing, his first foreign visit since assuming power in late 2011, came amid strained bilateral relations in recent years. Kim and Xi appear to have reinvigorated the historical bonds between the two countries and reaffirmed China’s crucial role in the future of the Korean Peninsula. This conference will explore the dynamics and tensions of the historical relationship between China and North Korea, the potential impact of Korean reunification on China, and China’s role in a limited military conflict and its aftermath.

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In a photo provided by North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency, , President Xi Jinping of China, left, and Kim Jong-un, North Korea’s enigmatic young leader, inspect an honor guard during a ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on March 26, 2018. Kim made an unannounced visit to Beijing, meeting with Xi weeks before planned summit meetings with American and South Korean leaders, Chinese and North Korean state news media reported on Wednesday, March 28, 2018. (Korean Central News Agency via The New York Times) — EDITORIAL USE ONLY —

Panel 1, 9:15am – 10:15am
China and North Korea Relations

This panel will examine the historical China-North Korea relationship, changes in political and security relations, and role of past and present economic ties on the future of the bilateral relationship.

Panelists

  • Jennifer Staats, Moderator
    Director, East and Southeast Asia Programs, U.S. Institute of Peace
  • Stella Xu
    Associate Professor of History, Roanoke College
  • Yafeng Xia
    Professor of History, Long Island University Brooklyn
  • Junsheng Wang
    Visiting Senior Fellow, Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, Atlantic Council
    Director and Associate Professor, Department of China’s Regional Strategy, National Institute of International Strategy, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, China

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Panel 2, 10:30am – 12:00pm
Would a Reunified Korea under South Korean Leadership be Positive or Negative for China?

This panel will assess China’s position on the ideal end state for the Korean Peninsula and whether a reunified peninsula under South Korean leadership would be beneficial or detrimental to Chinese economic, political, and security interests given South Korean, Japanese and U.S. likely responses.

Panelists

  • Frank AumModerator
    Senior Expert on North Korea, U.S. Institute of Peace
    @frankaum1
  • Yun Sun
    Co-Director, East Asia Program; Director, China Program, Stimson Center
  • Zhu Feng
    Professor of International Relations and Executive Director, China Center for Collaborative Studies of the South China Sea, Nanjing University, China
  • Heung-Kyu Kim
    Director and Professor of Political Science, China Policy Institute, Ajou University, South Korea
  • Michael Green
    Associate Professor and Director of Asian Studies, Georgetown University
    Senior Vice President for Asia and Japan Chair, Center for Strategic and International Studies
    @JapanChair

Lunch Keynote Address, 12:00pm – 1:15pm
Ambassador Mark Lippert

Mark Lippert is a current member of the Board of Trustees at the Asia Foundation and former U.S. Ambassador to South Korea.
@mwlippert


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Panel 3, 1:30pm – 3:15pm
War and its Aftermath on the Korean Peninsula – What Role Could China Play?

This panel will discuss the contours of a potential conflict on the Korean Peninsula, to include U.S. operations, how China may respond, and opportunities for cooperation. Participants will also examine Beijing’s role in shaping the post-war situation on the peninsula.

Panelists


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Closing Remarks, 3:30pm – 4:15pm

Join the conversation throughout the day on Twitter with the hashtag #ChinaGUUSIP.

This conference is cosponsored by the Georgetown Center for Security Studies and the United States Institute of Peace, and made possible in part by the generosity of the Bilden Asian Security Studies Fund.

 

 

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