Despite the fact that North Korea’s aggressive behavior threatens China, the Chinese are so far reluctant to support international action against its neighbor. Is China a friendly giant? The Independent says that China is in a unique position to influence the behavior of its odd neighbor to the north because it holds strong economic relations with the country. But perhaps it is for this very reason that China has thus far been highly conflict averse. “China’s appeals for Pyongyang to scrap its nuclear weapons have yielded nothing. And the North’s bellicosity is exacerbating the volatility of global financial markets, something that is hardly in China’s economic interest,” says The Independent.