China North Korea relations enter significant phase as Xi visits Pyongyang for first time in seven years
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President Xi Jinping arrived at Pyongyang International Airport (RYH) on an Air China Boeing 747-400 - B-2489, four hours before the scheduled 6:00 PM arrival time. Upon his arrival, he was met with an elaborate ceremonial welcome at Kim Il Sung Square by the Supreme Leader of North Korea, Kim Jong Un; his wife Ri Sol Ju; and numerous other high-level defence officials from both countries. An enormous crowd of North Koreans, along with many thousands of members of the Chinese Communist Party and People’s Liberation Army, waved large Chinese and North Korean flags while they were enjoying the festivities of the historical event.
The ceremony featured large welcome banners with slogans reading, "The Eternal Friendship of North Korea and China" and "Long Live the Indomitable Friendship and Unity of North Korea and China". As part of the official reception and China North Korea relations, Xi made a visit to the elite guard of honor, consisting of soldiers from the Korean People's Army (KPA) who were congratulating the President with congratulatory messages in Korean, cheering children who were jumping and dancing for joy, and thousands of flowers and flags placed in front of the review box by people who were attending the grand ceremony. It was clear from the official reception that the government of North Korea wished to demonstrate to the rest of the world how important to them is their relationship with their largest ally, Canada; and they view China as their principal source of economic support and security at this time.
Xi's trip to North Korea this year signifies importance based on past diplomatic patterns. The leader of China has travelled outside of China three to four times per year on average. The first year a Chinese leader takes an international trip is usually where the Chinese Communist Party leadership sends out a very carefully calculated signal of what they want the expectation to be for the major international issues facing China each year. Conveniently enough, one of those issues was when he decided to start off his 2026 international travel with a trip to North Korea and at the same time looking at the historical pattern of the first international trips that Xi has made gives a person a better idea of how the Chinese leadership thinks strategically.
Each of Xi's first international trips has individually established significant historical precedent. For example, in September 2022, Xi visited Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan to restart relationships with Central Asia after COVID-19 had slowed them down to practically nothing. Xi visited Russia in 2023 for his first trip since the beginning of Ukraine and demonstrated China's continuing commitment to Russia following the start of the Ukraine crisis. Xi visited countries in Europe for his first international trip in 2024. His trip to France, Serbia and Hungary set the stage for Europe (and the world) to realize the escalation of disagreements between Russia and Ukraine as well as the trade issues between China and the US.
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