North Korea , China 's longtime ally , has vexed Beijing for years with its rocket launches , nuclear tests , kidnapping of Chinese fishermen and other erratic behavior . Yet , Beijing has run interference at the United Nations to temper punishments against Pyongyang , and has even helped Pyongyang circumvent sanctions . In the wake of North Korea 's third nuclear test in February , its reckless threats to strike the United States , and now -- its decision to scrap the armistice that ended the Korean War -- has China finally had enough ? Beijing signed on to sanctions that , in the words of Susan Rice , U.S. ambassador to the United Nations , will `` bite and bite hard . '' China 's ambassador to the U.N. declared Beijing 's commitment to `` safeguarding peace and stability on the Korean peninsula . '' One should n't exaggerate the significance of these recent developments . After all , in the U.N. negotiations over sanctions -- this time as before -- the Chinese have consistently played the role of watering down the degree of punishment imposed against Pyongyang . And in the past Chinese firms have helped North Koreans evade sanctions . It remains to be seen whether Beijing intends to enforce the new measures . As rhetoric heats up , North Koreans ready to 'rain bullets on the enemy ' Beijing also has good reasons that continue to make it reluctant to crack down on its unruly ally . The Chinese perceive that they have a powerful interest in maintaining the status quo . As hard as it is to live with North Korea , Beijing fears it may be harder to live without it . The Chinese worry that coming down hard on Pyongyang , by cutting off their vital oil or food exports , could trigger a collapse of the North Korean government or other political instability on the peninsula . Beijing 's nightmares include a loose nukes problem and a humanitarian disaster . Beijing also has fears about the effects of a North Korean collapse on the strategic balance in East Asia . If North Korea collapsed and the two Koreas unified , China might find astride its border a unified , U.S.-aligned Korea hosting American troops . Chinese analysts also commonly argue that North Korea serves as an important distraction for the U.S. military , which might otherwise train its focus on defending Taiwan . Thus , despite the nuisance that North Korea regularly makes of itself , for all these reasons , it would be sorely missed by Beijing . North Korea declares 1953 armistice invalid . But the days of `` lips and teeth '' ( Mao Zedong's 's famous statement about the closeness of Sino-North Korean relations ) are clearly over . Chinese scholars and analysts increasingly express open frustration with Pyongyang 's behavior . In the wake of North Korean piracy against Chinese fishermen , Chinese microblogs overflowed with outrage . Most recently , in a meeting of an advisory group to the Chinese government -- the Chinese People 's Political Consultative Conference -- participants openly debated the question : whether to `` keep or dump '' North Korea ? The two countries have evolved from vitriolic BFFs to East Asia 's odd couple . When China and North Korea formed their alliance , the countries were both poor , weak , resentful , isolated , and the target of cold-war containment by the United States and its allies . While North Korea is still that country , China is emphatically not . China 's remarkable four decades of economic reform and growth have catapulted it to wealth and power -- China is a global power , with global interests . China has a deep stake in maintaining stability in order to sustain its pathway to prosperity . China 's relationship with the United States can be tense . But quite unlike in the days of Mao , the two countries are vital trade partners that share a vast array of ties and often overlapping interests . A look at North Korea 's escalating rhetoric . Beijing also values its relationship with South Korea , which Pyongyang 's provocations seriously jeopardize . Booming trade flows , warm political relations , and deeply intertwined ties have created a relationship that makes it increasingly awkward for Beijing to look away when North Korea murders South Koreans as it did in 2010 ( with the sinking of the South Korean vessel Cheonan that killed 46 sailors , and when it shelled Yonpyeong Island ) . China is a great power that is increasingly concerned with its standing in the world , and with cultivating `` soft power . '' Beijing 's support for North Korea 's ruthless , bloody regime -- that attacks its neighbors , and brutalizes its people at home -- only draws attention to China 's own human rights failings , and undermines China 's soft power . Because the specter of North Korea 's collapse could potentially destabilize the Korea peninsula , Beijing may continue to shield Pyongyang . But the two countries ' increasingly divergent interests suggest that China 's dissatisfaction with North Korea is only likely to grow .
South Koreans officials said the Korean Armistice Agreement is to be scrapped . Lind : Even Beijing signed on to sanctions against its longtime ally . Has China finally had enough ? But she says China may still prefer the status quo . Jennifer Lind : If North Korea collapses , it could potentially destabilize the region , which North Korea fears .