Economic Interests Shape Beijing's Pyongyang Policy

Portions of the China-North Korea border remain porous. A Chinese guard watched as two men crossed into North Korea at Onsong. Du Bin for The New York Times

From Wall Street Journal:

China on Tuesday repeated a call for calm after North Korea's latest test of a multistage rocket, attempting to defuse anger in the U.S. and elsewhere at a time when its economic interest in the neighboring state is soaring.

Since North Korea's test of a rocket similar to a long-range missile Sunday, Chinese diplomats have refused to criticize Pyongyang and forestalled penalties against it in the U.N. Security Council, where China is a permanent member with veto power.

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My Comment: China's involvement with North Korea are strictly for the long term. They know that the present leadership will pass on .... and that the North Korean Government will ultimately look at neighboring countries for closer and better relations. For the Chinese, a unified Korea with its economy and people united is not in China's best long term interests. Their present positioning with North Korea is to insure that this will not happen .... that as long as North Korea is dependent on China for survival .... they will never be a threat to the Chinese Government.