The decision to deploy a Theater High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in the Republic of Korea (ROK) by the ROK and the United States caused strong diplomatic reactions from China. Further negative interactions between the ROK and China may develop if the two countries cannot find a solution.

The recent Lotte crisis is a recurring incident in East Asia’s power dynamic: one country wields economic weapons to score geopolitical goals against another. In a region where China and U.S. lack strategic trust and security cooperation, everyone stands to lose when economics and geopolitics get tangled. Keeping the two in separate dimensions and preventing risks from one realm spilling over into the other are imperative.

Participants in the Six Party Talks can take four paths to progress: Make denuclearization of the Peninsula their collective top priority; make a military strike an option as talks resume; initiate peace treaty talks concurrently; and take confidence-building steps to make negotiations more inviting.

In light of this unexpected focus on the role of nuclear weapons and the prospect of continued U.S.-Chinese competition, it’s worth understanding more about the two countries’ nuclear policies and capabilities. Unlike the United States, China does not acknowledge a potential role for tactical nuclear weapons in fighting or winning a limited conflict, and is thought to maintain only a strategic nuclear arsenal exclusively to deter nuclear coercion or threat from another country.

Chaos on the Korean Peninsula would have a direct and far-reaching impact on the security environment of China. China push for the principle of “no war, no chaos and no nuclear weapons” on the Peninsula will become even stronger amid uncertainties posed by the election of Donald Trump and the planned tests by the DPRK.

Generations of Chinese leaders have said China aims to have the minimum capability required to launch an effective nuclear counterattack. From the long-term perspective, global disarmament has always been China’s goal, and the country should lead the way to keep other major powers faithful to that goal.

Hillary Clinton is expected to be more belligerent than Obama in dealing with Beijing. But the U.S. cannot expect confrontational or coercive tactics to succeed. Doing so could damage further cooperation between the two countries and drive Beijing closer to North Korea. Instead, the U.S. should aim to take a more diplomatic approach to their relationship with Beijing.

The confrontation regarding plans for the THAAD system might lead to unbearable consequences if the situation gets worse. The only reasonable course for Washington and Seoul is to abandon the deployment.

In the face of risks and disagreements, the two sides should restart negotiations, and sincerely embark on the road of resolving both the unsettled state of war from the 1950s and the current stalemate over the THAAD deployment in South Korea.