By Lee Seong-hyon
Xi Jinping has met with Kim Jong-un three times in the mere span of three months, from March to June. It's like Xi has been scoring a summit with Kim every month. Compared to Xi, President Moon Jae-in scored two, and U.S. President Donald Trump one. With that, China is smug with the feeling that it "outstripped" all the other major geopolitical stakeholders in shaping the North Korean affair. It also effectively makes defunct the so-called "China passing" ― the idea that China might be sidelined.
So, how close are North Korea and China now? At a glance, very close.
During the latest visit by Kim to China (June 19), Xi promised Kim "three unchangeables" (san ge bubian): one, the support of the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese government for the development of Sino-North Korea relations; two, Chinese people's friendly feelings (youhao qingyi) toward North Korean people; and three, China's support for "socialist North Korea."
What deserves special attention is the fact that Xi addressed North Korea as "socialist North Korea" (shehuizhuyi chaoxian). This is not a coincidence. Xi is supporting North Korea, a "socialist" country.
Trump urged Kim to accept an American-proposed denuclearization deal that would provide his country with prosperity "on par with South Korea," a country that has become a prospering democracy with American sponsorship. In fact, South Korea is a signature success story of "democratic transformation" in Americas' foreign engagement.
However, Xi is known to be a dedicated socialist and a believer in Marxism. During the 19th Party Congress of the Chinese Communist Party in October 2017, Xi proclaimed the "Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era." The decline of the West, in particular, the election of Donald Trump in the United States, gave the Chinese leadership renewed confidence in China's choice of its development path, which has painstakingly resisted accepting the Western development model. In March this year, Xi said that the decision by China's Communist Party to adhering to the political theories of Karl Marx was "totally correct."
Naturally, this raises a question of whether Xi's vision for the future state of North Korea and that of Trump are compatible. This aspect is important because even though both the U.S. and China want North Korea's denuclearization, their respective visions for the future North Korea and the type of its political institution may be starkly different.
Xi is clear. He wants a North Korea that is a socialist country, like China. And this will also affect how Xi will deal with Kim and what kind of advice he offers to him in his ongoing negotiations with Trump. It also has an implication for future discussions on Korean unification, as China may side with North Korea, not South Korea.
During his meeting with Xi in Beijing, Kim remarked that North Korea and China supported each other "like a family." Kim also said that North Korea will "closely cooperate" with China in the "same command camp" (han cham'mobu), so as to safeguard socialism and herald a new future for the Korean Peninsula.
The wording is intriguing. Back during the Korean War, when the battle became fierce between the U.S. and China, the Chinese military formed a combined forces command (Jojoong yonhap saryongbu) with the North Korean military, to enhance their combat coordination and efficiency against the U.S. and its allied forces.
It's too early to speculate what this all means in the "evolution" of the Sino-North Korea relationship. But for those mere few months, we may have been seeing a "revolution," as they have been rapidly reconfiguring their regional strategy in a way that reinforces their bonding and mutual affinity. It eerily reminds one of the Cold War era when China and North Korea characterized their alliance relationship as one that was "soaked in blood."
There is a brooding sentiment in the analytic community as to whether Kim is attempting to upgrade Pyongyang-Beijing ties to the same high level as the Seoul-Washington alliance, so as to use it as a "protective cover" as Kim prepares a North Korean version of reform and opening up. That means North Korea might turn out to be a prosperous socialist country on a par with China, rather than on a par with South Korea, going against Trump's wishes.
Lee Seong-hyon (sunnybbsfs@gmail.com), Ph.D., is director, Center for Chinese Studies; and director, Department of Unification Strategy at Sejong Institute.
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So, how close are North Korea and China now? At a glance, very close.
During the latest visit by Kim to China (June 19), Xi promised Kim "three unchangeables" (san ge bubian): one, the support of the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese government for the development of Sino-North Korea relations; two, Chinese people's friendly feelings (youhao qingyi) toward North Korean people; and three, China's support for "socialist North Korea."
What deserves special attention is the fact that Xi addressed North Korea as "socialist North Korea" (shehuizhuyi chaoxian). This is not a coincidence. Xi is supporting North Korea, a "socialist" country.
Trump urged Kim to accept an American-proposed denuclearization deal that would provide his country with prosperity "on par with South Korea," a country that has become a prospering democracy with American sponsorship. In fact, South Korea is a signature success story of "democratic transformation" in Americas' foreign engagement.
However, Xi is known to be a dedicated socialist and a believer in Marxism. During the 19th Party Congress of the Chinese Communist Party in October 2017, Xi proclaimed the "Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era." The decline of the West, in particular, the election of Donald Trump in the United States, gave the Chinese leadership renewed confidence in China's choice of its development path, which has painstakingly resisted accepting the Western development model. In March this year, Xi said that the decision by China's Communist Party to adhering to the political theories of Karl Marx was "totally correct."
Naturally, this raises a question of whether Xi's vision for the future state of North Korea and that of Trump are compatible. This aspect is important because even though both the U.S. and China want North Korea's denuclearization, their respective visions for the future North Korea and the type of its political institution may be starkly different.
Xi is clear. He wants a North Korea that is a socialist country, like China. And this will also affect how Xi will deal with Kim and what kind of advice he offers to him in his ongoing negotiations with Trump. It also has an implication for future discussions on Korean unification, as China may side with North Korea, not South Korea.
During his meeting with Xi in Beijing, Kim remarked that North Korea and China supported each other "like a family." Kim also said that North Korea will "closely cooperate" with China in the "same command camp" (han cham'mobu), so as to safeguard socialism and herald a new future for the Korean Peninsula.
The wording is intriguing. Back during the Korean War, when the battle became fierce between the U.S. and China, the Chinese military formed a combined forces command (Jojoong yonhap saryongbu) with the North Korean military, to enhance their combat coordination and efficiency against the U.S. and its allied forces.
It's too early to speculate what this all means in the "evolution" of the Sino-North Korea relationship. But for those mere few months, we may have been seeing a "revolution," as they have been rapidly reconfiguring their regional strategy in a way that reinforces their bonding and mutual affinity. It eerily reminds one of the Cold War era when China and North Korea characterized their alliance relationship as one that was "soaked in blood."
There is a brooding sentiment in the analytic community as to whether Kim is attempting to upgrade Pyongyang-Beijing ties to the same high level as the Seoul-Washington alliance, so as to use it as a "protective cover" as Kim prepares a North Korean version of reform and opening up. That means North Korea might turn out to be a prosperous socialist country on a par with China, rather than on a par with South Korea, going against Trump's wishes.
Lee Seong-hyon (sunnybbsfs@gmail.com), Ph.D., is director, Center for Chinese Studies; and director, Department of Unification Strategy at Sejong Institute.
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