Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit North Korea next week for the first time in nearly seven years, underscoring Beijing’s efforts to strengthen ties with its isolated neighbour amid shifting geopolitical dynamics in Northeast Asia and growing cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow.
China announced that Xi will travel to North Korea from June 8 to 9 for talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The trip will mark Xi’s first visit to Pyongyang since 2019 and his first overseas visit of 2026, highlighting the strategic importance Beijing attaches to its relationship with its only formal treaty ally.
The visit comes at a time when North Korea has expanded its ties with Russia, providing military support for Moscow’s war in Ukraine and deepening political and economic cooperation. Analysts say Beijing is keen to ensure it remains North Korea’s primary diplomatic and economic partner despite Pyongyang’s increasingly close relationship with the Kremlin.
Xi’s trip follows a series of high-profile diplomatic engagements in Beijing, including meetings with U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Observers say the North Korea visit will allow China to demonstrate its continued influence on the Korean Peninsula while balancing relations with major global powers.
Relations between China and North Korea cooled during the COVID-19 pandemic, when strict border closures and limited exchanges disrupted traditional contacts. However, both countries have moved steadily to rebuild ties over the past two years through increased trade, restored transportation links and a series of high-level diplomatic exchanges.
In April, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Pyongyang and pledged to deepen cooperation and communication between the two neighbours. The visit was widely viewed as a precursor to a summit between Xi and Kim and part of a broader effort to revitalise bilateral relations.
The summit will also take place against the backdrop of North Korea’s continued expansion of its nuclear programme. Earlier this week, Kim called for an “exponential” increase in the country’s nuclear arsenal while inspecting a new nuclear material production facility. The move has raised concerns among regional powers and renewed questions about the future of denuclearisation efforts on the Korean Peninsula.
While China has traditionally supported dialogue aimed at reducing tensions, it has avoided publicly pressuring Pyongyang over its nuclear ambitions. Analysts say Xi is likely to focus on maintaining regional stability and preserving China’s influence rather than seeking major breakthroughs on denuclearisation during the visit.
The trip is expected to produce symbolic demonstrations of solidarity between the two communist-led states and could lead to further agreements on economic cooperation, security coordination and regional affairs. It will also be closely watched by Washington, Seoul and Tokyo for signals about the future direction of China-North Korea relations and the balance of power in Northeast Asia.
