Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to visit North Korea on Monday, following back-to-back summits with US President Donald Trump and Russia's Vladimir Putin. Xi's visit comes as North Korea's nuclear talks with Washington remain deadlocked.
China, Washington's chief geopolitical rival, has been North Korea's main trading partner for decades and a key source of diplomatic and economic support. Xi's visit is seen as an attempt to consolidate the alliance with North Korea, partly to counter US influence in the region.
North Korea has repeatedly declared itself an 'irreversible' nuclear state, and Xi is likely to tell Kim that China wants stability more than anything. Beijing is shifting towards 'underwriting regime durability' rather than seeking to coerce North Korea into denuclearisation.
The visit also comes as China seeks to draw Pyongyang more actively into its diplomatic orbit, partly to counter US partners in the region, including South Korea and Japan.
