Pyongyang: China appeared more focused on countering U.S. regional influence than on addressing North Korea's nuclear program, given the absence of any public reference to Pyongyang's denuclearization in either country's readout of their summit this week, experts said Tuesday.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Pyongyang on Monday underlined a deepening strategic alignment between the two countries, and their unity amid an intensifying Sino-U.S. rivalry. Xi's visit marked his first trip to the country since 2019, as strategic competition between the United States and China has been deepening on multiple fronts, including trade, maritime security, and technological leadership.
"China is more focused on denying U.S. influence than denying North Korea nuclear weapons," Patrick Cronin, chair for Asia-Pacific security at the Hudson Institute, told Yonhap News Agency via email. "Kim is fixated on tactical victory, thinking every time a big power omits a reference to denuclearization that confers legitimacy on North Korea's claim to be a permanent nuclear-weapon state," he added.
Andrew Yeo, SK-Korea Foundation chair at the Brookings Institution's Center for East Asia Policy Studies, noted that the absence of any reference to denuclearization on the summit day suggested that denuclearization is not a top priority for China as it once may have been a decade ago. Xi's high-profile meeting with Kim followed summit talks with U.S. President Donald Trump in Beijing last month, where the leaders confirmed their "shared goal" of denuclearizing North Korea, though this was not publicly reiterated in the recent summit's reports.
Ellen Kim, director of academic programs at Korea Economic Institute of America (KEI), highlighted that China's policy ambiguity on the denuclearization issue began to emerge in 2024, driven by several factors including a desire to avoid provoking North Korea and concerns over Pyongyang's closer ties with Moscow. Cronin emphasized that China conveyed a key message through the summit: unity with its traditional ally, which could challenge the U.S. and its allies.
In a geopolitical context, the North Korea-China summit was seen as part of Beijing's efforts to reassert its influence over Pyongyang and enhance strategic alignment with the North and Russia. For Kim Jong-un, the summit came as an opportunity to solidify his regime's identity as a nuclear power, with China's silence on denuclearization issues serving as an implicit endorsement.
Rob Rapson, former acting U.S. ambassador to South Korea, viewed the summit as a significant event in the evolving geopolitics of Northeast Asia. He noted that the lack of discussion on denuclearization might impact prospects for future U.S.-North Korea engagement, suggesting that President Trump might still push for another meeting with Kim for legacy purposes. However, Pyongyang's limited interest in resuming dialogue with Washington, coupled with its growing ties with Moscow, poses challenges to this prospect.