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Xi Jinping, general secretary of China’s Communist Party and state president (left), and Kim Jong Un, chairman of North Korea’s State Affairs Commission, during Xi’s visit to North Korea on June 20, 2019. /Xinhua, Yonhap News

US and British media are closely analyzing Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to North Korea as a strategic move by Beijing to reclaim its exclusive leverage over Pyongyang.

On the 8th (local time), the Associated Press reported that President Xi’s visit—his first in seven years—is aimed at tightening Beijing's grip on North Korea in exchange for providing economic and political backing.

The AP noted that President Xi is highly likely to offer an economic assistance package, which could include food aid like rice and fertilizer, alongside joint economic initiatives such as resuming group tours for Chinese citizens.

This strategy, according to the report, is designed to prompt North Korea to pursue a balanced, parallel diplomatic track with Beijing rather than leaning entirely on Russia.

Bloomberg News similarly interpreted President Xi’s trip as an attempt to reaffirm China's role as North Korea’s ultimate political patron and economic lifeline.

Bloomberg evaluated that as North Korea secures greater diplomatic leverage by deepening military cooperation with Russia, China intends to demonstrate that it remains Pyongyang's most vital benefactor.

Meanwhile, CNBC projected that North Korea is likely to demand economic concessions from China during the summit, alongside tacit recognition of its status as a nuclear-armed state.

The broadcaster added that Beijing appears willing to prioritize mending ties and expanding its influence over the denuclearization issue, signaling that China is effectively tolerating North Korea as a nuclear state.

The Guardian, a British daily, framed President Xi's visit as a "reassertion of Chinese influence," calling it a strategic maneuver to demonstrate that Beijing remains the primary backer even as Pyongyang ramps up military ties with Moscow.

Citing experts, the publication concluded that President Xi is seeking to check Russia's growing clout over North Korea and draw Pyongyang firmly back into Beijing's geopolitical orbit.

                                                                                                            Park Jin-sook