Why was China’s response to North Korea’s latest missile launches so muted?

Missile tests hours after China’s foreign minister left Seoul won’t alter Beijing’s focus on regime stability, analysts say South Korea and Japan condemned the launch as a provocation. Beijing declined to criticise the barrage fired into the sea east of the peninsula, with China’s foreign ministry saying the following day that it had “noted the reports” and did not have any “new comment”. During his meetings in Seoul, Wang urged South Korea to pursue “genuine strategic autonomy”, avoid taking sides between China and the United States and move towards “peaceful coexistence” with its northern neighbour.

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