Question

What do you think about United States' interest in placing sanctions on China? Is this a good idea? 200 words or less.

Answer 1

• Sanctions are defined as mostly economic but also political and military penalties introduced to alter political and/or military behavior—are employed by the United States to discourage the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles, bolster human rights, end terrorism, thwart drug trafficking, discourage armed aggression, promote market access, protect the environment, and replace governments.
• To accomplish foreign policy ends, sanctions take the form of arms embargoes, foreign assistance reductions and cut-offs, export and import limitations, asset freezes, tariff increases, revocation of most favored nation (MFN) trade status, negative votes in international financial institutions, withdrawal of diplomatic relations, visa denials, cancellation of air links, and prohibitions on credit, financing, and investment.
• The United States imposed sanctions on 13 Chinese and North Korean organizations Washington accused of helping evade nuclear restrictions against Pyongyang and supporting the country through trade of commodities like coal.The new curbs focus on hurting trade between China and North Korea, which it sees as key to deterring Pyongyang from its ambition to develop a nuclear-tipped missile capable of hitting the United States.
• Essentially no amount of sanctions will ever persuade North Korea to end its nuclear weapons program. For decades, multiple U.S. presidents have attempted to tackle the North Korean issue with sanctions but to little avail. If the United States wants to solve the North Korea issue, it will have to start looking for a new strategy. Since military action should not even be considered due to the devastating effects of a North Korean counter-attack, US should instead work to create an environment where Kim Jong Un no longer feels nuclear weapons are needed as a deterrent.
• The idea is good and a step in the right direction, but in order to truly choke the regime, a harsher strategy will be needed. Sanctions will only hurt america but not improve it;sanctions will cause collateral damage by harming innocent third parties—including American and Western firms that abide by rules of transparency and are dutifully committed to regulatory compliance and slapping more Chinese companies with sanctions will invite retaliatory behavior from Beijing. This will do more harm to Sino-U.S. relations and have geopolitical costs further down the road.
• For now, the U.S. and its allies should let diplomacy run its course on the Korean Peninsula, before rushing ahead with more sanctions.