What Xi Jinping needs to hear from Kim Jong-un in China

Andrew Hammond says the Chinese president will probably want to discuss Kim Jong-un’s planned summits with the leaders of South Korea and the United States and emphasise how quickly tensions may return if they go badly

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President Xi Jinping and foreign minister Wang Yi listen during a meeting with the president of Cameroon, Paul Biya, in Beijing on March 22. If North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is, as reported, in Beijing for a meeting, it will be his first with Xi despite the long-standing alliance between North Korea and China. Photo: AFP

Published: 2:00pm, 27 Mar 2018Updated: 9:33am, 28 Mar 2018

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is reportedly in Beijing in his first foreign visit since taking power in late 2011. The unconfirmed trip comes at a time when Beijing has increasingly supported international sanctions against Pyongyang.

The strain on relations between the two long-standing allies was underlined when President Xi Jinping described North Korea’s recent military provocations as a threat to his country’s security. Kim will hope his visit is a turning point, given that this is not just his first trip to China, but his first chance to see Xi face to face.

For China, the unannounced visit is a potential boon, given that Xi will not be at any of the planned meetings between Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in in April, or at the potential summit with US President Donald Trump. For Beijing, Kim’s visit reinforces its role as a key player in the grand diplomatic game, and Xi will be keen to have a stronger sense of what Kim expects from his important meetings, especially with Trump.

Kim’s reported visit is only the latest sign of moving geopolitical plates over the Korean stand-off. Following spiralling tensions on the peninsula in 2017 over the North’s nuclear weapons and missile programmes, 2018 could bring a remarkable diplomatic respite. By ramping up sanctions and diplomatic pressure on Pyongyang, Xi has played a major role in creating this window of opportunity.

Traditionally, Beijing has been reluctant to take too-sweeping measures against its neighbour for fear that North Korea would become destabilised. Despite Xi’s annoyance with Kim, undercutting Pyongyang too much risks its youthful leader behaving even more unpredictably, along with the possibility of regime implosion.

Policemen block a road near Tiananmen Square in Beijing on March 28, after Japanese media reported the arrival of a special North Korean train, met by an honour guard under tight security, suggesting a delegation headed by Kim Jong-un. Photo: AFP

Chinese diplomat gets key role on North Korean issues as Beijing fights to remain relevant

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What Xi Jinping needs to hear from Kim Jong-un in China

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;}Chinese diplomat gets key role on North Korean issues as Beijing fights to remain relevant

Chinese diplomat gets key role on North Korean issues as Beijing fights to remain relevant