Description: North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, hosted Chinese President, Xi Jinping, in Pyongyang for a two-day summit, which is expected to deliver an even stronger alliance between the two countries. The visit would mark the 65th anniversary of the mutual defense pact signed between the two countries, that in symbolic terms adds to the mutual strategic partnership today. The joint statements issued after the first day reverberated China and North Korea’s close strategic partnership and China’s solidification of international support for North Korea’s development. As North Korea’s largest trade partner, China would further strengthen trade and tourism ties with North Korea since sanctions and international marginalization have banned Kim from the international financial and political stage. No concrete deals were reported by both national state televisions Xinhua and KCNA, however, the summit had a more symbolic tune to the bilateral relations rather than economic or political.
Impact: Xi’s visit to North Korea most likely reaffirms China’s extension of influence in the Indo – Pacific and sends a message to the region that nuclear North Korea is under direct patronship of the government in Beijing. Not addressing North Korea’s recent as well as decades – long nuclear ambitions likely indicates that North Korea’s nuclear capabilities represent a sticking point in the relations but lack the determinative factor to create cracks in the bilateral strategic partnership. Over the long – term China is likely to leverage its relationship with North Korea to draw figurative concessions from the US and its regional allies, primarily exploiting the country’s nuclear capabilities. North Korea’s growing ties with Russia are also likely a problem for China, which aims to keep Pyongyang into its orbit of influence indefinitely while sidelining Moscow in the trilateral constellation of power dynamics between the allies. China would most likely continue to prop up North Korea with economic incentives and continue to monitor the development of Pyongyang’s nuclear capabilities in the long – term. North Korea likely remains subservient to the government in Beijing and its highly unlikely to be integrated within organizations such as BRICS or the Shanghai Cooperatio Organization under Beijing’s patronship.