Why doesn't China make a deal with North Korea to take in refugees in exchange for access to their markets?

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Would it be a good idea in the long term?

I don't see why China wouldn't want to take in North Korean refugees into the neighboring provinces of China and allow for 10s of thousands of North Koreans to be assimilated into China as well as increase business into North Korea to help both the Chinese and North Korean economies.

Manufacturing plants could be built, farming could be better handled with Chinese help, and North Koreans as a whole could become more prosperous.

Decades from now, if this type of policy were to be enacted, the economy improved in North Korea, North Korea would be able to choose, through a massive democratic process, between:

1. reunification with South Korea under a healthy economy dominated by a mix of domestic companies and Chinese companies, or 

2. a type of solely economic union between North Korea and China where North Korea keeps all of its sovereignty or,

3. North Korea would become an autonomous province under China's leadership.

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

the North Koreans do not have any money to buy anything from Chiina

freywolf · Answer

Well seeing that North Korea continues to make provocative remarks such as threats of nuclear war; I believe China has only one real choice. Either accept the idea that they might get a flood of refugees or accept the idea that they may be in the path of possible nuclear fallout.
The US has not threatened a nuclear war, but I can almost guarantee if one nuke goes off, then others will.
The truth is that North Korea needs to return to talks and stop making idle threats. The constant trumpeting of how magnificent, well respected, and glorious their country and "dear leader"  is to the international community isn't fooling anybody. It's a country full of starving people that exist in an already proven failed system of government.
So now China really only has these choices. China is all about business. What is better for business? Aceppting refugees or facing the idea of nuclear fallout? From a business standpoint I truly think there is only one option. Neither option is favorable, but there is a difficult decision to make. I hope they would choose the lesser of 2 evils.
 Keep in mind that if refugees flood into China, it would not be long before the North Korean Government would collapse upon itself. If that happened, I am certain that the refugees would return to their homeland to create a better government there. In other words, the refugee situation would most likely be temporary.

On a final note, I find it amusing that North Korea calls their army the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. I have not seen anything indicating that their government is Democratic. You don't vote for dictators.

SCOTT M · Answer

The last thing China needs or wants is a few million more North Korean refugees to feed and care for.

North Korea’s leadership (such as it is) is not about to put itself under the thumb of China.  

As for China and NK establishing some kind of economic union that would give it access to North Korea’s markets, what markets are those?  North Korea is desperately poor.  Many of its people have been reported to eat grass to keep from starving to death.  There is essentially no disposable income in NK, hence no market for China to sell to.  The flip side of this is that NK would need to gain access to China’s markets, which China would not allow.  It’s having a hard enough time creating enough jobs to meet the employment needs of its own people.

The bottom line is that North Korea wants Chinese aid with no strings attached.  It doesn’t want any kind of merger or union that would diminish its sovereignty.

scaerdrys · Answer

1. Refugees do come into China. They are either women, and trafficked there due to China's one-baby policy, that deprives young men of soul mates nowadays, or they are famine starved Tuman-swimmers, whom China sends back, because China doesn't want them. 
2. Marketing to North Korea will piss off China's neighbors, if not the UN...and we all know that if there is one organization in this world you do not want to piss off...oh, I'lll cut the sarcasm. But Chinese markets might take a hit from other countries if it markets to North Korea, especially in light of UN sanctions. 
3. The only people in North Korea who would benefit are the same people who benefited from US foreign aid. That is, the autocratic military government. 
4. China basically loses both situations. It doesn't want North Korea or most of her non-nubile young women refugees, and it only stands to lose in the markets. 
Peace

EDIT
Yes, because, thus far, like 3/4s of North Korean money goes to military spending, which generally makes Japan et al. nervous. They know they could take on ally-less North Korea any day, but still, they don't want to see that kind of money going to the nuke program.

Dalarus · Answer

North Korea's leader is notoriously for his closed society and fervent distrust of other governments - he has even threatened nuclear war. I don't think they would be open to such a policy. And China probably doesn't want to take in a large population.

Anonymous · Answer

china can sell whatever it wants in north korea anyway. and they want korean refugees as much as we want 10's of thousands of mexicans coming here. Sure this is your attempt at getting china and korea to do what you want however once again. It's all about what you want and you offer nothing to the chinese people. "Here you guys can have some refugees." It's like saying "hey can i go out with your sister? Here I'll give you this lump of sht." Good trade or what?

Why doesn't China make a deal with North Korea to take in refugees in exchange for access to their markets?

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