Beijing/Seoul —
Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s first visit to North Korea in seven years was not just rhetoric praising the historic ties between China and its longtime and only treaty ally.
Rather, the two-day state visit was an opportunity for Xi to spell out his vision for China’s future cooperation with its nuclear-armed neighbor and in global flux.
Xi told North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during talks in Pyongyang on Monday that “in the face of profound changes not seen in the last 100 years,” the two sides should “open up bright prospects for the socialist cause of both countries and regional peace and development.”
To this end, China was ready to expand cooperation in trade, agriculture, construction, science and technology, and medical fields. Xi said he would strengthen “strategic coordination” and strengthen military, diplomatic and law enforcement exchanges.
Comparing Beijing’s official statements from the two talks, the vision is more concrete than the one Xi laid out when the two leaders last met in 2019 at the ornate Geumsusan State Guest House in Pyongyang.
And President Xi’s statement this time also lacked an important phrase. According to statements released so far, unlike seven years ago, the Chinese leader did not mention Beijing’s support for “denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.”
That would be a potential win for Kim.
Under his rule, North Korea continues to ramp up its nuclear program in violation of UN sanctions. In 2023, the constitution was revised to clearly state nuclear weapons development policy.
It may also be a sign that Beijing is adjusting its diplomacy toward what it sees as a very different world than it was seven years ago, one locked in strategic competition with the United States and one in which North Korea is strengthening ties with Russia.
The Chinese leader’s latest visit to Pyongyang comes amid China’s rising star on the world’s international stage.
Leaders from around the world have visited Beijing this year, including a remarkable week-long period in which President Xi hosted state guests of the presidents of the United States and Russia, an agenda few other world leaders could pull off.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration’s recent military exploits in Venezuela and economically damaging war with Iran have given Beijing more confidence in conveying the message that China is a responsible world power with the right vision for how the world should be run.
The visit to North Korea gives Mr. Xi another chance to present himself as a nimble power broker who can engage with leaders as diverse as the heads of the world’s most powerful democracies to dictators with sanctions-defying weapons regimes.
Lim Eul-cheol, a professor at South Korea’s Kyungnam University, said China’s calls for stronger diplomatic, law enforcement and military exchanges with North Korea are likely a sign that North Korea wants to more actively participate in the economic and security zone that China is trying to build and lead.
It also allows Beijing to demonstrate to the United States and its allies that it still has influence over North Korea.
President Trump has repeatedly expressed interest in resuming diplomacy with Kim after his high-profile attempt to dismantle North Korea’s nuclear program during his first term ultimately failed. The Korean Peninsula was one of the issues discussed between Mr. Xi and Mr. Trump during the US president’s three-day visit to Beijing in mid-May.
China does not see now as an opportunity to pressure Kim to abandon his nuclear program.
“Currently, Mr. Kim believes diplomacy with Mr. Trump is riskier than following a Cold War 2.0 strategy, and Mr. Xi believes it is riskier to pressure North Korea rather than enable it,” said Leif Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul.
However, given its proximity to North Korea, there are still many cards left in Mr. Xi’s hands when it comes to dealing with the United States.
This is President Xi’s first overseas trip this year, and according to North Korea’s state media Rodong Sinmun, Chairman Kim did not overlook this point, praising the visit as “the best demonstration of the importance that China places on friendship between North Korea and China.”
China has long been North Korea’s main economic lifeline and most important diplomatic partner. The two countries express a loyalty “forged in blood” from their joint efforts in the Korean War.
Kim said that North Korea will continue to uphold bilateral friendship as “the most important and top-priority strategic endeavor,” and will spare no effort to strengthen and develop it into an unwavering and solid strategic relationship.
But behind the high-sounding rhetoric, Xi’s visit also cements that relationship, and the influence it has long sought to maintain over its unpredictable neighbor remains intact.
Relations between the two countries have cooled in recent years, while North Korea has grown closer to Moscow.
Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a mutual defense treaty in 2024, and North Korea has provided thousands of soldiers and ammunition to support Russia’s war against Ukraine, a development that has alarmed Western countries wary of growing collaboration between Pyongyang, Moscow and China.
Mr. Xi’s highly ceremonial visit to Pyongyang this week contrasted with Mr. Putin’s visit in 2024, when the Russian leader and Mr. Kim took turns driving each other around in a Russian-made limousine, and smiling photos of the two reflected a closeness and trust.
Still, Xi’s visit and talk of deepening ties through trade, science and technology signals that Beijing wants to reaffirm its position as North Korea’s key partner.
Observers say it also speaks to Xi’s broader calculations about the balance of power in the region, where U.S. allies are strengthening their defense infrastructure in the face of China’s growing military power.
According to Lim, President Xi’s mention of strengthening military exchanges with North Korea may signal a significant shift from support for denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
“This could mean a security partnership between China and North Korea aimed at countering South Korea, the United States, and Japan, while tacitly acknowledging North Korea’s nuclear status.”
Asked at a press conference this week whether China still supports the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said China maintains “continuity and consistency” in its position on the Korean Peninsula issue.
Mr. Kim appeared to be testing Mr. Xi’s potential tolerance ahead of his arrival, touring a missile manufacturing company over the weekend and a few days ago touring a new factory producing weapons-grade nuclear material.
Although the documents released by both sides as of Tuesday afternoon did not mention nuclear weapons, the talks could provide an opportunity for each side to understand the other’s strategy and position and express their own.
“Beijing expects North Korea to respect its interests and avoid destabilizing its policies,” Easley said in Seoul. “Mr. Xi’s visit is a strategic embrace of Mr. Kim, but it is not a blank check to North Korea.”
