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Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a two-day state visit to Pyongyang starting Monday, as China and North Korea seek to strengthen relations amid shifting regional dynamics, according to Beijing's Foreign Ministry.
The visit, announced by Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning, will be Xi's first trip to North Korea in seven years and his first overseas trip of the year.
Xi is visiting at Kim's invitation. The trip aims to deepen relations, promote development, and contribute to "peace, stability, development and prosperity in the region and the world at large," according to Beijing.
Xi last visited North Korea in 2019, becoming the first Chinese president in 14 years to travel to the country.
He also traveled to Pyongyang in 2008, when he was vice president and Kim's father, Kim Jong Il, was North Korea's leader.
Xi and Kim last met in September, when Kim attended a Chinese military parade in Beijing marking the 80th anniversary of China's Victory Day.
Xi's trip comes as regional dynamics shift, including stronger ties between Pyongyang and Moscow under a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty signed in 2024.
The treaty includes mutual defense commitments.
Last month, Xi hosted U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing for separate, almost back-to-back visits.
The White House said after Trump's visit that Xi and Trump reaffirmed a shared goal of denuclearizing North Korea.
Beijing has not disclosed details of the talks but said China is working in "its own way" toward a "political settlement" of the nuclear issue.
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Kim Yo-jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, said Sunday that the country's status as a nuclear-armed state is "absolutely irreversible" and that its nuclear weapons program "is nonnegotiable," rejecting international efforts aimed at denuclearization.
Her remarks came days after Kim vowed to expand North Korea's nuclear capabilities "at an exponential rate" and said the country's nuclear status is "irreversible."
The timing of Xi's trip has triggered speculation over whether he is seeking to act as a mediator between Trump and Kim.
China remains North Korea's most important economic partner.
Trade between the two countries rose to $2.79 billion last year, the highest level since the coronavirus pandemic and close to pre-pandemic levels in 2019.
Passenger train services between China and North Korea resumed in March after a six-year suspension caused by the pandemic.
The resumption of train services was followed by the return of direct Air China flights between the two capitals.
This year marks the 65th anniversary of the China-North Korea Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance.
The treaty is the only defense pact China has with any country.
North Korea's economy grew an estimated 3.7% in 2024, its largest expansion in eight years, according to data from South Korea's central bank.
The growth was driven by stronger exports and advances in the construction and manufacturing sectors.
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