Kim Jong Un strengthens ties with China ahead of a possible meeting with Trump

What makes this phase in relations between the two countries interesting is the simultaneous closeness between Pyongyang and Moscow. Historically, the North Korean leadership has tended to draw closer to one of its two neighbouring powers whilst distancing itself from the other. Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, however, Kim has been succeeding in strengthening ties with both Russia and China.

After saying he wanted to meet Kim by the end of this year, Trump has scaled back expectations of a summit with the North Korean leader. The US president had left open the possibility of a meeting on the sidelines of the APEC summit scheduled for next month in Shenzhen, China, but his overtures in recent months have all been rejected.

According to Christopher Green, a senior consultant at the International Crisis Group, it is possible that the North Korean leader visited China specifically to coordinate his position with Xi before agreeing to a meeting with Trump. “However, the truth is that Kim has many issues to discuss with China, apart from diplomacy with the United States,” explains Green.

China is keen to expand economic and trade cooperation with North Korea, according to the official Chinese news agency Xinhua. A senior official in Beijing has described the recent opening of a new bridge over the Yalu River as an opportunity to boost trade between the two countries.

The four-lane bridge stretches for around three kilometres. Construction work was completed in 2014, but the structure has remained unused for 12 years whilst North Korea has delayed the completion of customs and immigration control facilities.

“Whilst enjoying the panoramic view from the centre of the newly inaugurated bridge,” reads the KCNA dispatch, “Comrade Kim Jong Un expressed his conviction that the bridge would undoubtedly fulfil its historic mission fully and properly: to connect the two countries and firmly unite the hearts of their respective peoples”.