China and North Korea have pledged to strengthen strategic cooperation and defend each other’s sovereignty, according to a North Korean state media report covering Chinese President Xi Jinping’s two-day visit to Pyongyang.
The two leaders vowed to “open a new chapter” in bilateral ties and expand exchanges and cooperation in political, economic, cultural and other fields, the official Korean Central News Agency reported on Tuesday.
It quoted North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as saying that strengthening ties with China was the country’s “most important strategic mission”.
The Chinese leader on Monday said his country’s relationship with North Korea “stands at a new historical starting point” and that he had reached “important consensus” with Kim, according to Chinese state news agency Xinhua.
Attending a state banquet in Pyongyang, Xi called the countries “good neighbours, good friends and good comrades” and highlighted their deep historical ties.
“China and the DPRK [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea], linked by mountains and rivers and sharing a common future, have seen their traditional friendship passed down across generations and grow ever stronger over time through the test of the evolving international landscape,” Xi was quoted as saying.
Xi arrived in Pyongyang on Monday to a red-carpet welcome, filled with pomp and pageantry.
During the talks, Xi pledged “unwavering” support to North Korea and its leader and called for stronger exchanges at all levels in areas such as foreign policy, law enforcement and the military.
Analysts say Xi’s trip to Pyongyang represents a mixed picture.
On the one hand, it speaks to Xi’s growing clout on the global stage.
“In the span of three weeks, Chinese President Xi Jinping has hosted Donald Trump in Beijing [and] received Vladimir Putin,” said Allen Carlson, an associate government professor at Cornell University.
“In each of these cases Xi’s counterparts appear to be living in his world.”
After last month’s summits, Chinese state media chest-thumped that Beijing was “fast emerging as the focal point of global diplomacy”.
Trump had ventured to Beijing hungry for deliverables as he battles record-low approval ratings and as the US is mired in a war with Iran.
Likewise Putin’s summit came as he is entrenched in his own war with Ukraine and an economy surviving on Chinese trade.
Kim, meanwhile, sits atop one of the world’s most isolated states, and Xi’s visit to a nation keen on large-scale ceremonies bolsters the North Korean leader’s position at home and could be a distraction from the country’s economic problems, according to analysts.
“In such company Xi looks every inch the kingmaker,” Carlson said.
But behind the diplomatic pageantry, China faces a host of its own challenges as it seeks to make a transition towards a green and hi-tech-driven economy. The swooning property market has wiped out household savings for many families, consumer demand remains stubbornly weak and youth unemployment is approaching 17 per cent, undercutting the motivation of younger Chinese.
Xi understands that foreign appearances can bolster a leader’s stature at home when domestic conditions are less than ideal, according to Carlson.
“The world’s axis may be tilting towards Beijing,” he said. “Whether it stays there is a different question.” -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
