Why the 'Friendship oil pipeline' is still flowing from China to North Korea?

China has once again played its hands in the North Korean conflict, forcing the Western nations (in particular the United States) to back off from a 100% cut of oil supplies to Pyongyang.

The US wanted to literally kill the North Korean regime with a full ban on oil exports to Pyongyang – and President Donald Trump did mention that foreign oil exports to North Korea is now banned and this will hurt the North Korean regime.

But China battled it hard to prevent its oil pipeline that runs for more than 30km into an oil depot in Sinjiju in North Korea from inclusion in the UN ban.

South China Morning Post said today the Chinese did not want the pipeline to be included in the ban, as it did not want to generate more ill will from Pyongyang by cutting its lifeline.

This overture from China is also intended to bring the North Korean regime to understand that China wants it to come to the negotiation table and not to its knees, said SCMP.

That way, Beijing keeps its hands into the play of whether the North Korean regime dies or stays alive, and for now it has no reason to kill the regime, despite Trump’s harping at China over Beijing’s influence on North Korea.

While other countries may abide by the UN ban on oil exports to North Korea, it will give China a stronger hand over the Kim Jung-on regime.

Beijing will be the only country where North Korea will find oil. But then do not discount Myanmar, where oil may still flow to the North Koreans.

On the other hand, China did not want a humanitarian crisis on its hands with an influx of refugees from North Korea if a total ban on oil imports were enforced.

Original article: http://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2110879/whats-one-big-technical-reason-china-wont-turn-north