did when he warned the Syrian regime not to poison its own people, he would follow through.

That the Trump team gave the Chinese no advance warning of the strike was entirely intentional. It was meant to rattle President Xi and his foreign policy henchmen, and set them to recalibrating what the United States might do next.

The next step in the program was to spotlight China’s hypocrisy, and to reaffirm its responsibility for enabling North Korea’s march to nuclear capability. At the Mar-al-Lago summit, President Trump backed down from earlier threats to label China a “currency manipulator” in exchange for Xi’s promises to help rein in Kim Jung Un, following the playbook of prior administrations.

Three months later, however, Trump tweeted that he was “very disappointed in China”. “They doNOTHING for us with North Korea…just talk.” In interviews he called out China’s cheating, noting that its trade with North Korea had jumped 34 percent in the first quarter – hardly indicative of economic pressure. Stories appeared in the New York Times and elsewhere chronicling how Chinese companies, with full knowledge of the government, had circumvented sanctions against Pyongyang, enabling their weapons programs.

Having spotlighted China’s treachery, the United States began to press for broader sanctions on North Korea. Ambassador Nikki Haley scored a major foreign policy win when the UN Security Council unanimously agreed to meaningful and damaging sanctions against Pyongyang. Its duplicity exposed, China was in no position to object.

Sanctions, however, may not stop North Korea’s march towards nuclear capability. It may also require fear.

Hence, President Trump