Xi makes first North Korea visit in nearly seven years

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in North Korea on Monday for a three-day state visit, his first trip to Pyongyang in nearly seven years, in a significant diplomatic engagement that offers North Korean leader Kim Jong Un a platform to project an increasingly assertive foreign policy while allowing Beijing to reassert its influence over a government that has recently gravitated toward Russia. The visit marks the first direct encounter between the two leaders since Kim traveled to Beijing for a World War II commemorative event in September 2025, and comes less than a month after Xi hosted back-to-back meetings with US President Donald Trump and Russia's Vladimir Putin in Beijing. The timing of Xi's visit underscores Beijing's growing confidence in its global standing and its ability to engage directly with multiple powers simultaneously. China remains indispensable to North Korea's sanctions-ridden economy, accounting for over 90 percent of its total legal trade and providing fertiliser, food aid and consumer goods. Following a period in which Kim prioritised his relationship with Russia, receiving military technologies and aid in exchange for troops and munitions supporting Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, the North Korean leader is now seeking to strengthen ties with China to break out of international isolation and position Pyongyang as part of a united front against the United States. Potential discussion topics during the visit include the resumption of Chinese tourism to North Korea, the opening of an unused bridge over the Yalu River, and joint economic development projects in shared border regions. For China, the visit presents an opportunity to draw a traditional Cold War ally closer into its sphere of influence and correct what analysts describe as Beijing's private unease at North Korea's heavy embrace of Moscow. Experts suggest China may be adopting a more pragmatic approach to Kim's nuclear ambitions, as observers noted the conspicuous absence of the word "denuclearisation" from official statements during Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's visit to Pyongyang in April, potentially indicating Beijing has effectively accepted North Korea as a nuclear state. While Kim is expected to extend a grand welcome to Xi, analysts caution that China may find it challenging to extract significant concessions from an increasingly confident North Korean leader who is unlikely to play the role of a pliant ally.