SEOUL, South Korea (AP) 鈥� Chinese President is set to on Monday in his first visit in seven years, a trip likely meant to reassert China鈥檚 unique influence over North Korea in return for providing economic and political benefits.
During his two-day stay, Xi is to meet leader . It will be their first summit since September after attending with Russian President Vladimir Putin and other foreign leaders.
No specific agenda has been mentioned. Foreign experts predict the meeting will have big ramifications on bilateral ties and beyond, as they both seek to fully restore their traditional alliance in the face of separate confrontations with the U.S.
鈥淎 Chinese leader doesn鈥檛 just visit North Korea because a visit is due. Xi鈥檚 trip will have real implications for China-DPRK relations,鈥� said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul, using the abbreviation for North Korea鈥檚 full name.
Sway over North Korea likely helps Xi’s dealings with US
Xi鈥檚 trip comes after his back-to-back summits with U.S. President Donald and in Beijing last month. Xi is expected to meet Trump again on a planned U.S. visit in September.
Xi will try to demonstrate China鈥檚 鈥渟way over the Korean Peninsula鈥� and 鈥渁 leadership role in entire Northeast Asia in the ages of strategic competitions with the U.S.,鈥� said Kwak Gil Sup, the head of One Korea Center, a website specializing in North Korea affairs.
China has long been North Korea’s economic lifeline and main diplomatic backer. It was believed to have avoided fully enforcing U.N. sanctions on North Korea and sent clandestine aid to help its impoverished neighbor stay afloat. This year marks 65 years since the two countries signed a mutual defense treaty.
But there have been questions about in recent years, with North Korea prioritizing cooperation with by supplying troops and weapons to support its war against Ukraine. In return, North Korea has received economic and military assistance from Russia.
Restoring an exclusive influence over North Korea would give Xi a leverage in dealings with Trump, who has repeatedly expressed his desire to with Kim, experts say.
鈥淚mplementing U.N. Security Council resolutions and enforcing sanctions do not appear to be priorities for China,” Easley said.
In an article published on the North鈥檚 main Rodong Sinmun newspaper Monday, Xi said China and North Korea must boost strategic cooperation and work together to oppose 鈥渉egemonism and coercive politics鈥� and pursue an orderly multipolar world.
Kim needs Xi’s support for his push for nuclear state
Xi would likely offer Kim economic aid packages such as shipments of rice and fertilizers, a resumption of Chinese group tourism to North Korea. and joint economic projects, analysts said.
鈥淣orth Korea can鈥檛 solely rely on Russia. It needs to align with China,鈥� Kwak said.
In a Monday editorial, the Rodong Sinmun newspaper called Xi 鈥渢he most honored state guest,鈥� saying Pyongyang鈥檚 streets 鈥渁re filled with an atmosphere of friendship.鈥�
Xi could also refrain from pressing Kim on the issue of denuclearization of North Korea, and vaguely speak about peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula. That would be essential for Kim, who is desperate to win international recognition as a nuclear weapons state as a way to call for lifting of U.N. sanctions on North Korea.
鈥淐hinese officials have taken the position of not speaking publicly about denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula while still maintaining it as a long-term goal. Kim appears to want Xi to accept North Korea as a nuclear neighbor,鈥� Easley said.
Last week, Kim unveiled to produce nuclear ingredients and vowed to bolster the country鈥檚 nuclear forces 鈥渁t an exponential rate.鈥� He also observed sea trials of a new and called for speeding up efforts to build a nuclear-armed navy.
On Sunday, Kim鈥檚 sister and senior official, Kim Yo Jong, echoed her brother, calling a U.S. push for the denuclearization of North Korea an 鈥渆scapist and anachronistic dream.鈥�
Kim Jong Un has rebuffed U.S. and South Korean offers for talks and focused on enlarging and modernizing his since his high-stakes diplomacy with Trump collapsed in 2019. The North Korean leader said in September that he still had of Trump but urged the U.S. to withdraw its demand for North Korea to denuclearize as a precondition for resuming diplomacy.
Experts say Kim would eventually want arms reductions talks with the U.S. to win concessions in return for partially surrendering his nuclear weapons.
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
