Xi Jinping visits Pyongyang to strengthen China-North Korea relations

Xi Jinping has begun a two-day visit to North Korea, marking his first trip to the country in nearly seven years as he seeks to strengthen relations with the ally.

Footage from the Xinhua state news agency showed the Chinese leader and his wife, Peng Liyuan, arriving at Sunan international airport in Pyongyang. They were received by honor guards and an entourage that included foreign minister Wang Yi and chief of staff Cai Qi.

At Kim Il-sung Square, Kim Jong-un and his wife, Ri Sol-ju, welcomed the couple. The ceremony included a military band, national anthems, a 21-gun salute, and children presenting flowers. Crowds gathered with flags and balloons, displaying banners that welcomed Xi and praised the "unbreakable friendship" between the two nations. Following the event, the leaders moved to the Kumsusan guesthouse, a state villa built in 2019 for visiting dignitaries.

While North Korea is China's only formal treaty ally, ties have recently suffered due to a pandemic-related trade freeze and Pyongyang's strengthening bonds with Russia. This visit precedes the 65th anniversary of the friendship and mutual assistance treaty, China’s sole defense agreement with another nation.

Although Chinese and North Korean forces fought together in the Korean War, Pyongyang's current military cooperation with Russia is more immediate. North Korea has deployed over 10,000 soldiers to aid Russia in the Ukraine conflict, and the two nations signed a mutual defense pact in 2024.

John Delury, a senior fellow for the Asia Society, noted that North Korean propaganda emphasizes the active military bond with Russia while maintaining a more nostalgic tone regarding China. He suggested China is wary of Russia eclipsing its own influence in the region.

Last September, Xi, Kim, and Vladimir Putin appeared together at a Beijing military parade to project a united autocratic front. However, the leaders continue to balance their own interests; specifically, China aims to preserve a strategic trade relationship with the US, unlike Russia and North Korea.

In a statement published by the Rodong Sinmun state newspaper prior to his arrival, Xi described the relationship between Beijing and Pyongyang as being at a “new historical starting point.”