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President Xi Jinping made the first visit by a Chinese leader to North Korea in seven years, in a two-day meeting with Kim Jong-un. The trip is seen as a way to reaffirm Beijing’s influence over the neighbor, which has moved closer to Russia.
For the first time in almost seven years, the president of China, Xi Jinping, landed in North Korea. According to information from the portal IG, he arrived this Monday (8) in Pyongyang for a two-day state visit, at the invitation of the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un. It is also Xi Jinping‘s first trip abroad in 2026.
The visit is seen by analysts as a significant gesture. For Kim Jong-un, it is a chance to show his own people and the world that a superpower recognizes North Korea as an ally. For China, it is a way to reaffirm its influence over the neighbor, which had been getting closer to Russia.
Why Xi Jinping’s visit is so rare and important
The last time Xi Jinping set foot in North Korea was in June 2019, making this trip an unusual event between the two countries. The significance of the gesture is heightened by being the president’s first international trip in 2026, a sign of the priority Beijing places on the matter. The announcement was made on June 5 by state media on both sides, and upon arrival, Xi Jinping was received with a welcome ceremony in Pyongyang, calling for the deepening of strategic coordination and cooperation in areas such as economy, trade, agriculture, and science.
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The timing also draws attention. The trip takes place a few weeks after China hosted the presidents of the United States, Donald Trump, and Russia, Vladimir Putin, in a series of summits. Xi Jinping and Kim Jong-un had already met in September 2025, during a military parade in the Chinese capital marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II in Asia, an event that also featured Putin’s presence.
The Russia factor: China feels ignored
The backdrop of the visit has a name: Russia. In recent years, Kim Jong-un has strengthened ties with Moscow, even sending troops and weapons for the war against Ukraine, while both countries live with international sanctions. According to Choo Jae-woo, a professor of foreign policy at Kyung Hee University in South Korea, China feels sidelined and the main goal of Xi Jinping is to consolidate and strengthen the relationship with North Korea.
The calendar reinforces this reading. The trip takes place about a month before the 65th anniversary of the friendship treaty between the two countries, signed in 1961 and to this day the only formal military alliance treaty of China, which provides for assistance “by all means” in case of an attack. For Choo, anticipating the visit, instead of waiting for the treaty date, suggests that Xi Jinping is concerned about the possibility of North Korea getting too close to Russia.
What Kim Jong-un wants: to be seen as a normal State
On the North Korean side, ambitions go beyond symbolism. Analysts say that Kim Jong-un, 42, wants North Korea to be seen internationally as a normal State and as a country that others should take seriously. One of the bets would be to use the visit to expand diplomacy, seeking, for example, space in blocs like the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, created by China in 2001, or the BRICS, of which the country does not participate even as an observer.
There is also the economic interest. Kim Jong-un seeks closer ties with China to boost the weakened economy, which, according to data from the South Korean central bank, grew again by about 3% after years of stagnation. Not by chance, the leader reaffirmed his support for the principle of “one China” and the view of Taiwan as part of Chinese territory, as well as expecting more Chinese tourists in resorts like Wonsan-Kalma.
Xi Jinping’s message for the Indo-Pacific
The visit also carries a message for the region. For Kim Sang-woo, a former South Korean politician linked to the Kim Dae-jung Peace Foundation, Xi Jinping wants to demonstrate that China is the dominant power in the Indo-Pacific and that the United States’ commitment there has become uncertain, in a message directed to neighbors like South Korea, Japan, India, the Philippines, and Australia.
On the larger board, the relationship with Washington also weighs in. Donald Trump signaled a willingness to resume diplomacy with Kim Jong-un, but North Korea demands that the United States abandon denuclearization as a precondition, and some analysts speculate that Xi Jinping could carry a message in this regard. The alliance, it is worth remembering, dates back to the Korean War in the 1950s, when Chinese leader Mao Zedong described the closeness between the countries as “lips and teeth.” Still, experts caution that two days of visit do not solve, by themselves, the issues of the peninsula.
Xi Jinping’s first visit to North Korea in seven years shows how China, Russia, and the United States compete for influence over Kim Jong-un.
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