Since Trump took office, the United States and China have been locked in an ongoing spat over trade, technological theft, COVID-19, Taiwan and overall ideological differences. But those tensions are now bleeding into the U.S.-North Korea conflict, experts say — and they’re compromising Washington’s ability to negotiate a rollback in Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program.

The hostility has also narrowed Seoul’s diplomatic leeway, complicating its efforts to navigate its close economic ties to China and its security alliance with the U.S.

“Deteriorating China-U.S. relations creates a negative framework contextually for prospects for the U.S.-North Korea relationship,” said Scott Snyder, senior fellow