Chinese President Xi Jinping is visiting North Korea for the first time since 2019, pledging deeper cooperation with leader Kim Jong Un. The visit aims to reset a relationship that has been strained by Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions and is seen as a strategic move by Beijing to reassert its influence amid North Korea's growing military partnership with Russia, which includes a mutual defense pact.
Xi Jinping Pyongyang visit
- ▪Xi Jinping called for deeper cooperation with North Korea in areas including diplomacy, law enforcement, military, trade, and technology
- ▪Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Pyongyang on June 8, 2026, for a two-day state visit to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un
- ▪The visit is Xi Jinping's first trip to North Korea since 2019 and was intended to mark the 65th anniversary of their friendship treaty
China-North Korea relationship reset
- ▪Economic ties have been strengthening, with China's exports to North Korea reaching a six-year high of $2.3 billion in 2025
- ▪According to analyst Jenny Town, relations between China and North Korea have been in a "low period" since the pandemic
- ▪Xi Jinping and Kim Jong Un described the bond between their countries as “unbreakable” and pledged to bring relations to "new heights."
- ▪In late 2024, Xi Jinping and Kim Jong Un held their first formal summit in six years at a military parade in Beijing
North Korea-Russia military cooperation
- ▪North Korea has expanded military cooperation with Russia since the Ukraine invasion, signing a mutual defense pact in 2024
- ▪North Korea is accused of supplying ammunition for Russia's war in Ukraine in exchange for oil and aid
- ▪According to Western diplomatic sources, China is increasingly concerned about the growing military partnership between Pyongyang and Moscow
Beijing's strategic leverage
- ▪Beijing is unlikely to welcome Russia becoming the dominant influence in Pyongyang, as a more confident Kim Jong Un would reduce Chinese leverage
- ▪China's only formal defense treaty is with North Korea
- ▪China's strategic goal is to reassert influence over North Korea and maintain stability on its border
- ▪In 2022, China and Russia vetoed a US-led UN resolution to impose new sanctions on North Korea for its missile tests
Historical Xi-Kim tensions
- ▪North Korea has declared its status as a nuclear state "irreversible," a position that conflicts with China's stated goal of a denuclearized Korean peninsula
- ▪Mistrust has strained ties in recent years, partly due to Kim Jong Un accelerating North Korea's nuclear program after taking power
- ▪The execution of Kim Jong Un's uncle, Jang Song Thaek, who was seen by China as a stabilizing figure, deepened the rift between the two nations
- ▪In a 2014 move viewed as a snub, Xi Jinping visited South Korea before ever meeting with Kim Jong Un
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