“The president is losing patience with China” a U.S. official has said
Mikael Thalen
Prison Planet.com
July 13, 2017
The Trump administration may issue new sanctions against small Chinese banks and firms linked to North Korea’s missile and nuclear weapons programs, two senior U.S. officials told Reuters.
The specific targets, which have not been named, include what one official described as “low-hanging fruit” in the banking industry as well as “shell” companies believed to be aiding Pyongyang.
Whether the potential sanctions, which have been crafted thus far to exclude large Chinese banks, will be implemented depends partially on the outcome of a high-level meeting in Washington next week in which the U.S. will pressure Chinese officials to take a tougher stance towards North Korea.
The list of targets is said to be numbering “substantially more than 10” and was reportedly shown to Chinese President Xi Jinping for review by President Trump in Florida last April.
According to one of the U.S. officials, China has failed to provide an adequate response to the list, which could result in a “more aggressive approach to sanctioning Chinese entities… in the not-too-distant future.”
“The president is losing patience with China” the official said.
- A d v e r t i s e m e n t
China would have to take noticeable measures in reining in Pyongyang for the U.S. to reconsider sanctions.
“They’d have to show they’re really serious,” the second official said. “We’re not going to be paralyzed into inaction.”
While Trump initially expressed confidence in China’s ability to slow North Korea’s weapons programs, last week’s successful test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile, believed to be capable of reaching Alaska and potentially the U.S. West Coast, has spurred the commander-in-chief to take a more direct approach.
The White House placed sanctions…