11-14-2016 (Photo: China builds higher fences over fears of instability in North Korea) http://JohnBatchelorShow.com/contact http://JohnBatchelorShow.com/schedules http://johnbatchelorshow.com/blog Twitter: @BatchelorShow

China Builds a Wall to Prepare for North Korea’s Collapse. @GordonGChang, @TheDailyBeast. @ThadMcCotter, WJR.

Although the Sino-Korean border is more tense than it has been in years—Pyongyang, in 2014 deployed heavy armor near China—Chinese generals do not look especially worried about a full-scale invasion from their neighbor. Instead, they have other concerns. “The Chinese leadership seems to be preparing for the collapse of the North Korean regime,” a source noted. That assessment of China’s intentions appears correct. At the same time it is building the base, Beijing in Jilin’s Yanbian prefecture is reinforcing its wall, which is mostly a fence, built to keep North Koreans out of China.“Fencing that was washed away due to the flooding of the TumenRiver and old rusted barbed wire have all been replaced with new barbed wire,” a source said. China, in general, has been continually extending and reinforcing its barrier, which it began constructing in 2006. For most of its 880-mile length, the Sino-Korean border is defined by two rivers, the Yalu and the Tumen. They do not pose much of an obstacle to informal travel between the two states, however. In winter one can walk across the ice from one bank to the other and in the summer wade. At one point—at Yibukua, which means “one step across”—the water border is so narrow people can cross without wetting their feet. The border is impossible to seal without extraordinary effort because, among other reasons, it is arbitrary, drawn after conquest, and has a single ethnic group living on both sides. http://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonchang/2016/11/13/chinas-building-a-wall-any-lessons-for-trump/#4573572448b5

Trump & What Trade Tariffs Mean for China, South Korea and Japan

HONG KONG—President-elect Donald Trump ’s promised trade tariffs on China would likely hurt U.S. allies Japan and South Korea, which have become increasingly dependent on the Chinese market. Mr. Trump vowed to slap a 45% tariff on all imports from China if it doesn’t alter practices such as subsidizing steel and other industries, and to pull the plug on a Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, a 12-nation free-trade accord encompassing America’s chief Asian allies. The accord effectively died Friday, and Obama administration officials acknowledged there is now no way to advance it. During a 15-year growth spurt, China became a top export destination for a range of nations, surpassing the U.S. as the biggest market for manufacturers like South Korea and commodity producers such as Brazil. If China slows because it is hit by tariffs, it will buy less from these nations and they will slow, too. http://www.wsj.com/articles/donald-trumps-china-trade-stance-could-harm-japan-korea-1479076681?mod=e2twp