Will Trump’s Beijing visit bring new sanctions against Chinese banks in US?
Forceful tactic would aim to pressure China to fully implement United Nations sanctions against North Korea over its nuclear weapons programme
The US could pressure China to fully implement UN sanctions against North Korea by blocking more Chinese banks and companies doing business in America during Donald Trump’s upcoming Beijing visit, analysts say.
Anthony Ruggiero, an expert in the use of targeted financial measures for the Foundation for Defence of Democracies, told a think tank event this week in Washington that additional US sanctions against Chinese entities with alleged links to North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme could come around Trump’s visit.
“The focus is on how to get Chinese to do more on North Korea,” Ruggiero told the event put on by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative research organisation. “I understand the [Communist Party] congress is almost over, so perhaps finally we will get some additional actions against China.”
A US official also said Trump believed Chinese President Xi Jinping should have more leverage to work on the North Korea problem after the party congress ends on Tuesday.
“The president’s view is, ‘you have even less of an excuse now’,” said the official. “He’s not going to step lightly.”
Trump is seeking cooperation from Beijing to persuade Pyongyang to either change its ways or help deprive the regime of resources to the extent that it has no choice but to change, the official said.
