China: End the ‘China Responsibility Theory’ on North Korea

China has demanded the U.S. and others stop calling on Beijing to halt the escalating North Korean conflict, calling it the “China responsibility theory.” President Trump has repeatedly asked that Chinese President Xi Jinping use his close diplomatic and economic ties to rein in the reclusive North Korea. “Recently, certain people, talking about the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, have been exaggerating and giving prominence to the so-called China responsibility theory,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said during a daily news briefing. “There are ulterior motives for it, trying to shift responsibility.” The world must work together, said Geng, adding that China has so far played a constructive role but cannot do it alone. “Asking others to do work, but doing nothing themselves is not OK,” he added. “Being stabbed in the back is really not OK.”