Robin Wright: North Korea a ‘Test of the Relationship Between’ Trump and President Xi

EXCERPT:

WRIGHT: "Well, the basic problem is that the United States is relying on China and China thinks the United States really is the one that has to do the legwork and the heavy lifting on this. But this in many ways, this test is a challenge or a test of the relationship between President Trump and President Xi. President Trump had tweeted earlier that he had great confidence with China in dealing with the North Korean question and, you know, China then turns around and announces that its trade with North Korea is increased 40 percent in the first quarter of this year. And it has taken some little steps, turning back a fleet of coal ships that were delivering to China, so trying to look like he is taking some action. But the fact is, it is pretty minimal. And so this is something that is going to — I think it's a little bit like Russia, you know, you have that moment of 'Yes, we are going — this is going to be a different relationship,' and then you find the realities of the world force them back into the old kind of tensions and what it was under the previous administration even before that."