Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in the North Korean capital Pyongyang on Monday for the first time in almost seven years. Xi scheduled a two-day trip to meet North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un, marking their first summit since September, where they met in Beijing alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin and other foreign leaders.
According to Chinese state news agency Xinhua, Xi arrived in Pyongyang along with his wife Peng Liyuan and top officials, including Foreign Minister Wang Yi and top Communist Party official Cai Qi.
Xi previously hosted back-to-back meetings with U.S President Donald Trump and Putin in Beijing last month. Trump had also invited Xi to the White House in September.
Experts believe that Xi intends to display China’s influence over the Korean peninsula amid strategic competitions with the United States.
Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul, South Korea, said “A Chinese leader doesn’t just visit North Korea because a visit is due. Mr.Xi’s trip will have real implications for China-DPRK [North Korea] relations.”
“Chinese officials have taken the position of not speaking publicly about denuclearisation on the Korean Peninsula while still maintaining it as a long-term goal,” said Easley “Kim appears to want Xi to accept North Korea as a nuclear neighbour.”
China is North Korea’s main diplomatic supporter, avoiding to fully enforce U.N sactions and also signing a mutual defense treaty with the country 65 years ago.
North Korea has been prioritising its ties with Russia, sending its troops and weapons to support Moscow’s war efforts in Ukraine. Moscow has also reciprocated by providing economic and military assistance to Pyongyang.
Analysts predict Xi offering Kim economic aid packages, including shipments of rice and fertilisers, a resumption of Chinese group tourism to the country, and joint economic projects to restore Beijing’s unique influence over Pyongyang.
Head of One Korea Center, a website specialising in North Korea affairs, Kwak Gil Sup, said “North Korea can’t solely rely on Russia. It needs to align with China.”
