There is a considerable amount of debate surrounding how much pressure Chinese President Xi Jinping is receiving from the hard-line communist party apparatus.  Some believe Xi Jinping is actually in conflict with the party apparatus and most of the old guard of Hujintao.
There is a line of logic that states the current Chinese rhetoric is not Xi Jinping’s outlook, but rather the position of the communist party controlling the narrative and trying to reassert itself to cause diversion from the tenuous economic position of the Chinese economy.  Whichever perspective might be true, China just officially announced a position that is rather concerning.  According to the latest official communist party position:

♦If North Korea strikes first, China promises to remain neutral.
♦If The U.S. strikes first, China promises to fight on the side of the DPRK.

CHINA – […] Beijing is not able to persuade Washington or Pyongyang to back down at this time. It needs to make clear its stance to all sides and make them understand that when their actions jeopardize China’s interests, China will respond with a firm hand.
China should also make clear that if North Korea launches missiles that threaten US soil first and the US retaliates, China will stay neutral. If the US and South Korea carry out strikes and try to overthrow the North Korean regime and change the political pattern of the Korean Peninsula, China will prevent them from doing so.

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Speaking from Bedminster New Jersey, President Trump answers questions from media surrounding the ongoing issue with North Korea, and the intransigent republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and his inability to move legislation.

…”If China helps us with North Korea I will feel a little differently about trade”…

~President Donald Trump

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Apparently CTH and Asian expert Gordon Chang are on the same intellectual page in analysis of the ongoing North Korea issues.  In this interview Mr. Chang outlines the dynamic between U.S. President Trump, North Korean President Kim Jong-un and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Gordon Chang also agrees that mounting economic pressure on China will be the pathway to getting the DPRK into line.

Well, many of us were waiting for this – and we have discovered exactly what most CTH readers anticipated, China is a paper tiger.
Last night China finally delivered the official communist government position outlining their perceived leverage over the U.S. and President Trump’s economic diplomacy and economic security platform.
China has always used The Global Times to communicate their official communist state positions.  Last night China delivered their warning; oh, you’re gonna love this:

“US needs correct logic in dealing with North Korea”.

[…] The US asks China for help when it cannot solve its problems with North Korea. Some US elites even want to urge China to claim full responsibility for the issue or they will threaten to retaliate. Under this logic, isn’t it reasonable for North Korea to attack its southern neighbor when it is under military threat from the US?
Moreover, those US elites may not have considered the leverage China has over the US. What if China restricts the usage of iPhones and the number of Chinese students to the US, or imports fewer US agricultural products? (link for more)

Now, it is critical to emphasize this is the official outlook of the Chinese Communist regime and what they perceive as their leverage over the United States.  This is the official outlook of the party apparatus behind Xi Jinping.
So let’s look at their position in sequence.
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State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert delivers the press briefing for August 9th, 2017.  The insufferable media gnats remain fixated on President Trump’s remarks about North Korea – remarks, combined with months of created leverage, that are actually delivering results.
After ignoring all of the action President Trump, Secretary Tillerson, Secretary Mnuchin, and Secretary Ross have taken to shape the geography; and without even seeing the leverage Trump has positioned on China, Russia and North Korea; the pool reporters are floating questions from a parallel universe called ‘bizarro world’.
Seriously, questions about possibly needing a new “diplomatic direction” are ridiculous against the backdrop of the greatest international diplomatic win in years happening only a few days ago with the 15-0 UNSC unanimous vote on North Korea sanctions.
U.S. journalists are embarrassing.

Speaking today in Garmisch-Partenkirchen Germany, Defense Secretary James Mattis gave a statement to the media before the commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the Marshall Plan at the George C. Marshall Center:

“The United States and our allies have the demonstrated capabilities and unquestionable commitment to defend ourselves from attack.

Kim Jong Un should take heed of the United Nations Security Council’s unified voice, and statements from governments the world over, who agree the DPRK poses a threat to global security and stability. The DPRK must choose to stop isolating itself and stand down its pursuit of nuclear weapons.

The DPRK should cease any consideration of actions that would lead to the end of its regime and the destruction of its people.”

“President Trump was informed of the growing threat last December and on taking office his first orders to me emphasized the readiness of our ballistic missile defense and nuclear deterrent forces.

While our State Department is making every effort to resolve this global threat through diplomatic means, it must be noted that the combined allied militaries now posses the most precise, rehearsed, and robust defensive and offensive capabilities on earth. The DPRK regime’s actions will continue to be grossly over matched by ours and would lose any arms race or conflict it initiates.”

~ U.S. Secretary of Defense, General James Mattis

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Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has been engaged with Southeast Asian nations for the past five days during his trip to the ASEAN conference.  The issues surrounding North Korea took up most of the dialogue.  En route to Guam Secretary T-Rex holds a brief press conference aboard Air Force 2:

The Real Battle is the Battle For Your Mind…

CTH takes a different approach at significant world events.  We share the untold stories as they shake out, in real time, in granular details not noted by the MSM.  Readers here know the back-story behind the most consequential headlines when they happen.
♦We outline the policy approach and the intent of each sequential step in achieving a larger objective never discussed by the MSM; ♦we share the results as the significant horizon moments are encountered; ♦and then we share how the MSM shapes victories in the best diminishing way possible.  The latter point is specifically how the biased media shapes the mind of the consuming audience while the audience doesn’t actually notice it happening.

Cue today’s audio visual demonstration.
Everyone knows the first North Korean missile test was conducted during Bill Clinton’s presidency. That was over 20 years ago.  It would be intellectually dishonest in the extreme to think that after two decades, and with modern technological advancement, North Korea would not have missile capable nuclear weapons.  Of course they would.
Today the Washington Post, together with the “intelligence community” (note such leak and narrative partners are not accidental – they act in synergy) maneuver to diminish the hard won and historic policy and security advancement of the Trump administration -that could not be achieved by Bush or Obama policy- by pushing a “NEW HEADLINE” that North Korea already has nuclear missiles.
See what the media objective is there?
The left-wing media goal is to take the strategic policy win from the administration they oppose, and position it such that no win is actually worth celebrating.  See how they do that?
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U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley went into her full Mrs. Rubio mode earlier today as she took credit for single-handily bringing North Korea to heel. Apparently Secretary Tillerson and President Trump assisted Mrs. Rubio in achieving her policy objectives.

Dr. Sebastian Gorka appears on Sean Hannity TV show to discuss the ongoing issues with North Korea and the latest developments with U.N. sanctions.