Successful conflict management calls for establishing a peaceful way of doing business. That approach emphasizes inducements, which may stimulate talks and reciprocal concessions; use of all three levels of diplomacy—official, nonofficial, and people-to-people; and actions on the ground that, by reducing tensions, reverse the momentum for conflict.

Both the Chinese Communist Party and People’s Liberation Army have a special interest in the PRC’s relationship with the North. But presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump seem to understand each other on the Korean Peninsula issue, and there may be no better opportunity for the U.S. and Chinese governments to come to an understanding.

The US Secretary of State’s visit to Beijing, and his meetings with the Chinese foreign minister, ended with a pledges by both to resolutely advocate denuclearization of the Peninsula, strictly implement UN resolutions and strive for a peaceful resolution. That realistic assessment by both sides is a good omen for more collaboration between Washington and Beijing.

China and the U.S. will hold their first summit meeting this week. Though the concrete schedule has not been released, there is no doubt that the North Korean nuclear issue will be a hot topic between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump.

At a press conference on March 30, Chinese spokesperson Lu Kang announced that Chinese President Xi Jinping would visit U.S. President Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida from April 6-7.

At a time of such global confusion, it is not Brexit, Syria’s civil war, Russian assertiveness or China’s games in the South China Sea that consistently make the newspaper headlines, but the antics and brinkmanship of a state led by a man in his early thirties who is the third generation of a Communist family cult.

Given the domestic pressures faced by the major players, especially the US, in the near future, we can only expect an extension of the current dilemma.

Washington’s hawkish posturing is not likely to induce Beijing to incur the risks of greatly increasing its pressure on the North Korean regime. The first step would be to meet Beijing’s longstanding call for Washington to engage Pyongyang in serious, bilateral negotiations.

The reported fatal poisoning of North Korean ruler Kim Jong Un’s estranged half-brother, Kim Jong Nam, at Kuala Lumpur International Airport represents a major setback for China. Beijing valued Kim Jong Nam — a faded playboy with residences in Macau and Beijing — as a key asset against the North Korean dictator. China’s strongest action against North Korea to date — the recently imposed suspension of coal imports — can be ascribed to the “Trump effect.” U.S. President Donald Trump’s less predictable line, reflected in his wavering on the one-China policy and his tougher stance on Chinese expansion in the South China Sea, has prompted Beijing to take this action to blunt U.S. criticism that it is not doing enough to implement United Nations sanctions.

Since his days on the campaign trail, Trump has been a huge critic of China. However, he will need to come to terms with the fact that criticizing and alienating China, especially over the threat that North Korea poses, is not wise. North Korea will serve as a test of not just Trump’s ability to make a deal but also his ability to employ diplomacy with a rival to address a common and growing threat.