U.S. Presses China On Sanctions For Iran, North Korea

NEW YORK — The Obama administration is pushing China to implement international sanctions against Iran and North Korea as it seeks Chinese advice on how to engage the two countries over their nuclear programs.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton met Monday with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi to stress the importance of the sanctions in bringing Iran and North Korea back to separate, stalled nuclear negotiations. At the same time, she sought China's opinion on other ways to coax them into talks, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said.

They discussed "Chinese ideas on how to successfully engage both countries" and how to implement sanctions, he said.

China maintains strong ties with both Iran and North Korea and has been resistant to sanctions on either.

Earlier this month the Chinese postponed a planned visit to Beijing by a senior American official, Robert Einhorn, to discuss sanctions implementation. Crowley said Einhorn's trip has now been rescheduled for next week.

Clinton's meeting came ahead of talks this week between President Barack Obama and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly. Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao are expected to meet at the G-20 summit in South Korea in November and preparations are now under way for Hu to visit the United States in the coming months.

Comments

[altohone]

07:52 PM on 09/21/2010

Are they pushing to implement our unilateral sanctions or the UNs? These bits love confusing the reality that only one has actual worldwide support, and it ain't ours.

[Foodgrade]

01:30 PM on 09/21/2010

We already have our sanctions. The outsourcing is killing us.

[Dennis Yuen]

11:50 AM on 09/21/2010

The US-China political problem is much more complicated than many make it out to be. Yes, China has US's number because holds so much bonds and exports so much of its goods to the US, but on the other hand, China cannot afford to see the US economy collapse because the value of the money that they hold will plunge and demand for Chinese-made goods will fall.

Having said that, the US can't exactly do much when big Chinese business stick their middle fingers up to sanctions and continue doing business with the Iranians. The entire Chinese government is part of China's business juggernaut, and they're not about to let money-making stop because America wants to stop Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.

[blueskybigstar]

11:32 AM on 09/21/2010

Any country that is truly democratically elected should be allowed nuclear weapons. That means that during the Bush years, America did not have the right to have them.

[Ramkshrestha]

10:09 AM on 09/21/2010

Pressing China or seeking opinion?

[wwoody]

11:59 AM on 09/21/2010

Question is how can we presser The Chinese? by telling them that we're not going to pay them back. That would only make them laugh.

[baba2nde]

09:21 AM on 09/21/2010

"U S Presses China on Sanctions. . ."
". . .At the same time, she sought China's opinion on other ways to coax [North Korea, Iran] into talks. . ."

Seeking opinion rather than pressing China to do anything it does not want to do is more plausible.

[yankees]

09:10 AM on 09/21/2010

The Obama Administration are seen as weak throughout the World, just witness what is going on. Sanctions is just like Obama himself, ALL TALK, and everybody knows. Russia and China say one thing in front of Hilary and then go off and do their own thing. How many times have we've seen this over the last 18 months. This incompetent Administration is an embarrassment to people of the USA, that's why Europe loves him. And the final straw of the Traitor Obama is the UN Human Watch Committee, the biggest joke out there,

[baba2nde]

09:23 AM on 09/21/2010

Having a bad day already?

[wwoody]

12:10 PM on 09/21/2010

I wouldn't call our Administration incompetent that the wrong term to use. I will say things has not workout as we wish, this is just the beginning of a long process giving and taking.

[Foodgrade]

01:31 PM on 09/21/2010

Doing most of the giving and taking it in the bum.

[Bumpkins]

09:05 AM on 09/21/2010

Futile, it is all futile.....ever since we became a debtor nation our ability to influence any nation except a third world country is almost zero......What kind of pressure could we possibly put on China?    Get down to direct diplomacy already, instead of trying to get the rest of the world to do our dirty business......How long has this movie been going on....since the Shah got thrown out.....enough already......cause we look helpless to the rest of the world.

[Macready]

05:47 AM on 09/21/2010

stop with the sanctions . . . .stop wasting time and money .. . dialogue not sanctions . .but then we all know the real problem about Iran . . is aipac/israel . . . . disgusting . . . . the US has to be stopped or there will be another war .. and why . . so israel does not have to comply with international law . . the hypocrisy is so transparent it stinks

[mike72]

04:04 AM on 09/21/2010

Getting one factory set up in US or keeping one factory in US is much more important than doing this useless "show"

[jo smith456]

03:50 AM on 09/21/2010

Our government are putting so much effort on this kind of thing instead of our LOCAL ECONOMY that needs help and real reforms. We have staggering number of unemployed Americans!!! Americans need help!!!

[mike72]

04:03 AM on 09/21/2010

Right on.

[Macready]

05:45 AM on 09/21/2010

fanned jo smith456 . . . totally agree

[RubalKhali]

01:58 AM on 09/21/2010

I somehow don't think the Cinese are about to kowtow to the U.S. on this on.

[Macready]

05:45 AM on 09/21/2010

niether do I . . nor Russia . . nor should they . . they have to stop about Iran . . .

[Macready]

06:08 AM on 09/21/2010

neither do I no should they RubalKhali

[RubalKhali]

06:48 AM on 09/21/2010

The way to solve the "problem" of Iran is to engage them, talk with them, don't dictate and let their people and money go.

[SamSeven]

01:29 AM on 09/21/2010

The US has nothing on China. No leverage whatsoever. China is holding the 13.4 trillion dollars in US debt. They could pull the rug underneath the US in a moment in changing the yuans currency value and totally kill the US economy.

China could easily collect its debts by buying some US army/navy surplus equipment and land if it wanted to.

[RubalKhali]

01:57 AM on 09/21/2010

They are actively lessening their dollar position, buying yen and Euros.

[Macready]

07:29 AM on 09/21/2010

the Chinese have to protect their own people . . this is something America seems to be ignoring

[wwoody]

12:41 AM on 09/21/2010

For years I have said the issues of sanction is as useless as the ink it took to write it. And we're still wondering what went wrong.

[Macready]

06:09 AM on 09/21/2010

sanctions are counterproductive in this case . . especially regarding Iran . . they are hypocritical in the extreme . . .

[wwoody]

11:43 AM on 09/21/2010

You have hit it on the head. Fanned.

[Aaron Crosett]

12:29 AM on 09/21/2010

In the past and even now china allways seems to do what they want to do. The U.S. isnt gonna change anything and the Sanctions are just ridiculous, i dont even know why we try sometimes.