Chinese Communist chief thug Xi Jinping headed to North Korea for his first foreign visit this year and his first trip to the neighboring nation in seven years. The summit appears to be a follow-up between the longtime allies after North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un’s visit to Beijing last September.

Xi emphasized the relationship between the two nations as an “unbreakable” bond. Yet Xi rarely visits the communist nation, which is widely viewed as essentially a vassal of China and has long been dependent on its neighbor since the Korean War.

Since Russian leader Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine, North Korea’s economic woes have been reversing, thanks to weapons sales and Kim sending some 15,000 soldiers to fight with the Russians.

This has greatly benefited the heavily sanctioned nation’s economy. Indeed, The Wall Street Journal reports that the North Korean economy is the best it has been since Kim succeeded his father 15 years ago. Reportedly, the Hermit nation’s economy expanded 3.7% in 2024, the fastest single-year growth in eight years, putting Kim in the strongest position he’s been in since taking power.

Xi’s visit validates Kim’s strong position; however, it also reminds Kim that China, not Russia, is North Korea’s main benefactor.

With Kim having signed a defense pact with Putin two years ago, Xi may be acting to prevent Kim from pursuing a relationship with the Russian strongman that gets too close.

But Xi has also been tacitly sending a message to the U.S., as China has often acted as a mediator between the U.S. and North Korea regarding the latter’s nuclear weapons development. With a bit of a wink and nod, China often officially sided with the U.S. and its allies in calling for North Korea to eliminate its nuclear weapons program. China’s main reason for this is likely out of concern for keeping nuclear weapons out of South Korea.

As John Delury, northeast Asia historian and senior fellow at the Asia Society, contends, “Beijing never really wants North Korea to stray too far out of its orbit. Meanwhile, North Korea never wants to get sucked into the vacuum of Chinese power. That’s their historical dynamic, and that’s their dynamic now.”

This may explain, in part, why Beijing has conspicuously stopped publicly voicing opposition to North Korea’s nuclear weapons.

Regarding their relationship, Xi wrote in an article published in a North Korean newspaper that the two nations were at a “new historical starting point, facing new development opportunities and shouldering new missions of the times.” He added, “China stands ready to work with the DPRK to steer bilateral relations from a strategic perspective, keep China-DPRK relations abreast of the times, and achieve greater development of the relationship.”

With Beijing continuing to eye Taiwan, Xi can’t afford to lose the close relationship with North Korea, as this provides a strategic leverage position to be exploited depending on how the U.S. may respond to any Chinese action toward the island nation. Meanwhile, the Trump administration continues to maintain the historic U.S. position of seeking the denuclearization of North Korea.