US No 2 envoy claims Moscow-Pyongyang pact has left Beijing ‘somewhat anxious’

The No 2 envoy in US President Joe Biden’s administration said on Monday that Beijing was “somewhat anxious” over growing military cooperation between Russia and North Korea.

“China is probably worried that North Korea will be somehow encouraged to take provocative steps that could lead to a crisis in Northeast Asia,” said Campbell, who participated in the launch event for a China Strategy Initiative the think tank has set up to develop policy recommendations for Washington policymakers.

Campbell said that Pyongyang has provided “an enormous number” of artillery shells to support Moscow’s war against Ukraine and that in exchange, North Korea may get support for its long-range, nuclear missile development plans.

Russian President Vladimir Putin made headlines with his trip last week to Pyongyang, a move that widens the scope of players involved in the war that he launched against Ukraine in February 2022.

Biden administration officials including Campbell, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan have accused Beijing of supporting Russia’s war effort with shipments of electronics and other materials used in weapons systems, but add that the country has stopped short of delivering “lethal aid”.

In his remarks at the event, Campbell said that pressure on China from Nato allies and defence treaty partners in the Indo-Pacific – Japan, South Korea and the Philippines – as well as Australia and New Zealand had already been increasing over concerns about how much a Russian victory over Ukraine would upset global stability.

“The steps that Russia and North Korea are taking are causing countries in the region to rethink all of their military and other steps. And so what we’ve seen is substantial