China’s President Xi Jinping has arrived in Pyongyang on his first overseas trip this year as he aims to boost ties with North Korea, a reclusive nuclear-armed nation opposed to US military expansion in the Asia Pacific region.

During Xi’s two-day visit, “both sides will use the visit as an opportunity to promote greater development of China-North Korea relations in keeping with the times”, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Mao Ning told a press briefing on Friday.

The visit, Xi’s first in seven years, also comes at a time when North Korea has strengthened relations with Russia, its northern neighbour.

North Korea’s ties to China go back to the Korean War more than 70 years ago. North and South Korea are technically still at war, as the conflict ended in an armistice in 1953. More than 28,000 US soldiers are still deployed in South Korea.

So, what do China and North Korea’s relations look like? And why has China, the world’s second-largest economy, cultivated close ties with an isolated country like North Korea?

Here’s what we know:

How close are China-North Korea ties?

The two countries’ relations began after World War II, when China helped North Korea fend off South Korean forces backed by US and UN forces in the early 1950s. Between 200,000 and 400,000 Chinese soldiers were killed. In 1961, Beijing and Pyongyang signed the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance under which China is obliged to intervene militarily if North Korea is attacked.

Despite close Beijing-Pyongyang ties, China improved economic relations with South Korea in the 1980s, according to a 2024 report by the Council on Foreign Relations, a US think tank.

Moreover, China also repeatedly opposed North Korea’s nuclear ambitions, straining relations.

China opposed North Korea’s first nuclear test in 2006 and dubbed it a “flagrant and brazen” move, according to a 2017 report by the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

In 2009, when the United Nations adopted sanctions against North Korea because of its nuclear programme, China’s ambassador to the UN at the time, Zhang Yesui, said Beijing was in favour of the sanctions resolution since Pyongyang’s actions were in “disregard for the international community’s common objective”, SCMP reported. In 2013 and 2016 as well, China condemned North Korea’s nuclear testing programmes.

However, since 2018, Beijing has been trying to repair ties with Pyongyang, which also began improving its relations with Washington.

In March 2018, Xi invited Kim to China for talks where they discussed the situation in the Korean Peninsula. According to a March 2018 report by the Chinese state news agency Xinhua, President Xi said China was eager to safeguard the peninsula and sought to achieve its denuclearisation. Kim said he was “committed to denuclearisation” of the peninsula as well.

Months later, United States President Donald Trump met Kim in Singapore, with a focus on denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula.

Xi travelled to Pyongyang for the first time in June 2019. Two years later, the two countries renewed their 1961 defence treaty for another 20 years.

Last September, Kim visited China as a guest at its massive military parade. He travelled to the Chinese capital on his signature green armoured train.

Analysts say China is cautious of the budding relationship between North Korea and Russia. North Korean soldiers have fought alongside Russia after Moscow and Pyongyang signed a mutual defence pact in the wake of the Ukraine war. Putin visited Pyongyang in 2024 after a gap of 24 years, aimed at boosting defence ties.

Alejandro Reyes, adjunct professor in the department of politics and public administration at the University of Hong Kong, told Al Jazeera that one of the most significant geopolitical shifts of recent years has been the deepening Russia-North Korea relationship.

“Kim Jong Un now has more room to manoeuvre internationally than he did a decade ago. Xi’s visit is partly a reminder that while Russia may be an increasingly important partner, China remains North Korea’s indispensable neighbour,” he said.

“At the same time, it would be a mistake to overstate Beijing’s anxiety. Russia can expand North Korea’s options, but it cannot replace China’s geographic, economic and political importance,” he added.

Russia and China have also come closer in the wake of Moscow’s war on Ukraine.

How much does North Korea depend on China?

North Korea is one of the world’s most isolated and poorest nations. According to an August 2025 report by the Bank of Korea, the South’s central bank, North Korea’s gross domestic product (GDP) reached $26.6bn in 2024, an increase of 3.7 percent from the previous year. South Korea, on the other hand, has made great strides in economic growth, emerging as a major tech and shipbuilding hub. Its GDP in 2024 stood at approximately $1.88 trillion.

North Korea has largely been isolated from global trade due to UN sanctions over its nuclear programme. China “accounts for as much as 95 percent” of trade with North Korea, according to the Washington, DC-based think tank, the National Committee on North Korea.

Exports from China to North Korea include petroleum, food, textiles, machinery and vehicles. China imports cosmetic products like fake eyelashes, hair wigs, iron and steel, frozen fish and some manufactured food items.

Bilateral trade stands at $2.74bn, according to data from China’s General Administration of Customs.

North Korea also sends a lot of its citizens to work in China’s fisheries and construction sectors. Rights groups say some of the North Korean workers face exploitation.

Meanwhile, China has also been working on improving infrastructure and transport projects with North Korea. In 2015, it opened a shipping route as well as a high-speed rail link with North Korea, the Council on Foreign Relations said.

Dylan Loh, an associate professor in the public policy and global affairs programme at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, told Al Jazeera that North Korea has historically relied on China as its economic lifeline, supporting its economy and has been its top trading partner by far for a long time.

“But beyond relying on Beijing for trade, the DPRK gains international legitimacy and protection from its relationship with China. China is essentially North Korea’s security guarantor,” he said, using the acronym for the country’s official name.

Reyes from the University of Hong Kong said for Kim, maintaining good relations with Beijing is ultimately a matter of regime security.

“While Russia’s importance with North Korea has grown dramatically through military cooperation and support linked to the war in Ukraine, Russia cannot replace China economically,” he said.

“Moscow can provide weapons technology, energy and diplomatic backing. Beijing provides economic lifelines, geographic access and long-term strategic stability,” he noted.

“China also provides political protection. As a permanent member of the UN Security Council and North Korea’s only treaty ally, Beijing remains the one major power capable of helping Pyongyang navigate sanctions, regional diplomacy and any future opening to the outside world,” he added.

Why does China need North Korea?

According to a November 2024 report by the Council on Foreign Relations, China primarily needs North Korea since it seeks to maintain stability in the Korean Peninsula. “Xi’s Korea policy is focused on preventing a Kim regime collapse and on avoiding a potential unwanted war in the region, which could undermine China’s security interests,” the report said.

Loh said North Korea also acts as an important buffer against US troops stationed in South Korea. There are approximately 28,500 US soldiers stationed in South Korea as part of the Mutual Defense Treaty between Washington and Seoul, established after the Korean War armistice.

“With North Korea’s nuclear ambitions, Beijing will also want to ensure that its own interests and the safety of its citizens near North Korea do not get threatened,” Loh added.

“Beyond instrumental calculations, there is that shared history forged in the Korean War and the historically strong party-to-party ties,” he said.

Alicia Garcia Herrero, chief economist for Asia Pacific at French investment bank Natixis, shared a similar view.

“China needs North Korea as a strategic buffer, not an ally. It keeps US troops off China’s border and prevents a chaotic collapse that would send millions of refugees into China and hand Washington more influence in Asia,” she told Al Jazeera.

‘Reasserting control’

Herrero emphasised that Xi’s visit to North Korea is all about tactical power politics.

“China is reasserting control as North Korea drifts toward Russia and wants to remain the gatekeeper if Trump tries to cut a deal with Kim,” she said.

“Xi rarely leaves China. This trip shows Beijing is locking down its northeastern flank amid rising US and Russian pressure,” she added.

Reyes argued that there are also tentative signs that diplomatic channels are being tested in the region, which is pushing China to improve ties with North Korea.

“Recent speculation surrounding Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan’s visit to Pyongyang has prompted discussion about whether regional actors are quietly assessing North Korea’s openness to future engagement,” he said.

“Singapore occupies a unique position because of its role in hosting the 2018 Trump-Kim summit and its ability to maintain productive relations with Washington, Beijing and Pyongyang. That should not be overstated,” he explained.

“The United States already possesses direct channels to North Korea, and there is little evidence that Pyongyang is actively seeking a major diplomatic breakthrough with Washington at present,” he said, adding that the US-Israel war on Iran may also reinforce Kim’s preference to keep communication channels available while avoiding becoming the focus of US strategic attention.

“Xi’s visit is therefore about more than Russia or bilateral ties. It is about positioning China for a regional environment in which North Korea is more confident, more connected to Moscow, more convinced of the value of nuclear deterrence, and potentially entering a new phase of strategic calculation,” he said.