Xi Visits Pyongyang After 7 Years to Reassert China’s Grip on North Korea
Updated
Updated · Hindustan Times · Jul 14
Xi Visits Pyongyang After 7 Years to Reassert China’s Grip on North Korea
3 articles · Updated · Hindustan Times · Jul 14
Summary
Xi Jinping traveled to Pyongyang in early June for his first visit in seven years, aiming to show Beijing—not Moscow—remains North Korea’s main patron.
Beijing moved after Russia deepened military ties with Pyongyang, raising Chinese fears that Russian technology transfers could strengthen North Korea’s nuclear or submarine capabilities.
Those concerns also drove China to reject Putin’s push for a China-Russia-North Korea summit and to ask him in 2024 not to pair a Beijing stop directly with a Pyongyang visit.
China has even shelved its long-standing demand that North Korea commit to denuclearization before deeper engagement, underscoring how Xi is using leverage over weakened partners to protect Beijing’s regional position.
The Pyongyang trip fits a broader shift in which Russia’s war isolation has made Putin increasingly dependent on China, giving Xi more room to dictate terms across energy, finance and regional diplomacy.
As Beijing stalls on a key pipeline, is Russia’s famed energy pivot to Asia doomed?
Is China quietly cultivating a post-Putin leadership to secure its long-term interests in Russia?
Beyond cheap resources, what political concessions will China demand from its new supplicant state?
The 2026 Xi-Kim Summit and the Rise of the China-North Korea-Russia Axis: Strategic Realignment and Regional Security Risks
Overview
In June 2026, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Pyongyang for a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, marking the 65th anniversary of their friendship treaty. The summit featured elaborate ceremonies and highlighted the strong alliance between China and North Korea. Both leaders emphasized their shared strategic priorities and pledged broad cooperation in areas like trade, agriculture, and health care. The recent restoration of direct flights and train services between the two countries was celebrated as a way to deepen people-to-people ties. This meeting clearly reaffirmed the enduring partnership and mutual commitment of both nations.