Chinese President Xi Jinping will embark on a state visit to North Korea next week, his first journey to Pyongyang in nearly seven years, as Beijing seeks to recalibrate regional dynamics amid North Korea’s deepening entente with Moscow and persistent nuclear brinkmanship.
According to the Chinese Communist Party’s International Department, Xi will meet Chairman Kim Jong Un and exchange views on bilateral relations and issues of common concern, aiming to reinforce ties with China’s only formal treaty ally. The announcement comes just weeks after Xi hosted United States President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing, underscoring a concerted diplomatic offensive by the Chinese leadership to assert global convening power. Analysts contend that the timing reflects mounting apprehension in Beijing over Pyongyang’s strategic drift toward Moscow.
According to William Yang, an analyst for the International Crisis Group, as North Korea builds closer ties with Russia, China seeks to use Xi’s trip to reassert its influence over Pyongyang and safeguard its strategic interests in northeast Asia. North Korea has dispatched troops and conventional weapons to support Russia’s war in Ukraine, while simultaneously unveiling a new uranium-enrichment facility that South Korea’s military assesses will expand its atomic arsenal. According to Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning, the traditional friendly and cooperative relations between China and the DPRK have continued to develop in a sound and stable manner, bringing tangible benefits to both countries and their peoples.
Beijing remains Pyongyang’s paramount economic lifeline, accounting for the overwhelming majority of its external trade and humanitarian assistance, despite United Nations sanctions targeting the North’s nuclear and missile development. According to Lim Eul-chul, a North Korea expert at South Korea’s Kyungnam University, as China’s international standing rises, Beijing is likely seeking to draw Pyongyang more actively into its diplomatic orbit as a partner in advancing a more multilateral order. Passenger train services between the capitals resumed earlier this year after a pandemic-induced hiatus, though tourist exchanges remain suspended.
The choreography of Xi’s itinerary projects a deliberate counterweight to perceptions that North Korea had migrated into Moscow’s sphere. According to John Delury, a senior fellow of the Asia Society, the message implicit from the Chinese side is that it remains the principal actor when it comes to North Korea, and one of the audiences is Russia. Kim Jong Un’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, reiterated that North Korea will never back down on its status as a nuclear-armed state, a declaration that preceded the visit announcement and complicates denuclearization dialogues with Washington.
Source: #Howedey.comNews
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Author: Stella Sunu
