North Korea, China upgrade ties to strategic partnership amid ‘multipolarization’ push

During his first visit to North Korea in seven years, Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged to restore and develop bilateral relations into a strategic partnership during a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang on Monday.

The two leaders pledged to significantly strengthen bilateral economic ties, including the full resumption of customs operations, and hinted at the possibility of military cooperation. No mention of North Korea’s denuclearization was made.

China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency reported Monday that, during the summit at the Kumsusan State Guesthouse in Pyongyang, Kim characterized the development of the bilateral relationship as the “foremost strategic undertaking of the state,” as well as being the “choice of the peoples of the two countries and a necessity of the times.”

Kim further said that North Korea would “unwaveringly uphold the one-China principle and firmly support China’s policies and positions on safeguarding its core interests,” making clear Pyongyang’s intention to support Beijing in its efforts to protect its key interests, which include Taiwan.

Xi expressed his readiness to use this visit as an opportunity to “strengthen top-level planning and strategic guidance for China-DPRK relations in the new era [and] keep bilateral relations advancing with the times [to] achieve better progress in bilateral ties,” using the abbreviated form of North Korea’s official name.

Xi reportedly put forth four proposals for the sake of developing bilateral relations. These included consolidating the foundation of political mutual trust through high-level exchanges, elevating the level of practical cooperation while staying committed to the goal of delivering benefits to the people of each nation, upholding the legacy of friendship as a driving force to strengthen the bonds between their peoples, and deepening strategic coordination by upholding fairness and justice.

One particularly noteworthy proposal was Xi’s call to “leverage the opportunity of the full reopening of border crossings and the resumption of civil aviation flights and international passenger trains to increase people-to-people exchanges and foster mutual interaction.”

Such remarks hint at a comprehensive expansion of economic cooperation between the two countries, including the possible opening of the New Yalu River Bridge linking North Korea’s Sinuiju and China’s Dandong, which has yet to open for use despite construction having been completed around a decade ago.

Xi also noted that China is ready to “strengthen the alignment of development strategie