Xi Jinping to Visit North Korea, His First Trip Since 2019
Beijing and Pyongyang announce the Chinese leader will arrive next week for a two-day state visit, his first in six years, as Kim balances between China and Russia.
- Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives on June 8 for a two-day state visit to Pyongyang.
- It is his first visit to North Korea since 2019 and his first foreign trip of 2026.
- Chinese and North Korean state media jointly announced the visit on June 5.
- Beijing is seeking to strengthen ties with Pyongyang and curb Russian influence over its neighbour.
After a six-year pause, Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to return to North Korean soil. State media in Beijing and Pyongyang announced on June 5 that the Chinese leader will travel next week for a two-day state visit, on Monday and Tuesday, at the invitation of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. For Belgrade, which has spent years cultivating its own line to Beijing through infrastructure and investment arrangements, any shift in Chinese foreign policy towards East Asia reshapes the wider geopolitical landscape in which Serbian diplomacy also operates.
This is no routine stop. It marks Xi Jinping’s first foreign trip of 2026 and his first visit to Pyongyang since 2019, lending the occasion a weight rarely seen on the Chinese diplomatic calendar. Choosing North Korea as a destination ahead of all others signals that Beijing intends to reorder its priorities in a region where the interests of China, Russia and the United States overlap.
Why is Beijing sending its leader now?
The answer lies in the contest for influence over a nuclear-armed neighbour. According to the Washington Post, the visit comes as Beijing seeks to strengthen ties with Pyongyang and curb Russia’s growing sway over Kim Jong Un. In recent years, the North Korean leader has increasingly leaned on Moscow, leaving China, traditionally Pyongyang’s most important patron, in an uncomfortable position.
Xi is now attempting to reclaim primacy in a relationship China has long regarded as its own sphere. Several factors explain the calculation:
- North Korea is the only neighbour with which China shares an ideological and historical alliance dating back to the Korean War.
- Pyongyang has expanded military and economic cooperation with Moscow, which Beijing views as a challenge.
- Control over North Korea’s course gives Beijing leverage in its broader rivalry with Washington in Asia.
The visit comes as Beijing seeks to strengthen ties with Pyongyang and curb Russian influence over a nuclear-armed neighbour, the Washington Post reports.
How does the visit shift the balance of power in Asia?
The meeting between the two leaders is seen as a test of who will hold the decisive voice in Pyongyang. If Xi succeeds in consolidating Chinese influence, it would weaken the triangular dynamic in which Kim has so far skilfully balanced between Beijing and Moscow, extracting concessions from both major partners.
For a European perspective, including states such as Serbia that maintain parallel diplomatic channels with China, this summit is a reminder that tectonic shifts in Asian power relations move quickly and indirectly shape the room for manoeuvre of smaller actors. Brussels is watching closely for any sign that Beijing and Moscow are aligning or, conversely, diverging in East Asia.
The specific outcomes of the meeting are not yet known, and both sides are keeping their customary discretion until the visit begins on Monday. Will the two-day meeting in Pyongyang restore China to the position of North Korea’s principal patron, or will Kim keep the door to Moscow open?
