Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Sunday exchanged congratulatory messages to mark the 75th anniversary of the two countries’ diplomatic relations, Chinese and North Korean state-run media said, amid speculation about worsening bilateral ties.
In his message, Xi said he “highly values” the two countries’ relations and that China is willing to work with North Korea to “strengthen strategic communication and coordination, deepen friendly exchanges and cooperation and continue to write new chapters” for bilateral friendship, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.
Kim said that bilateral friendly relations have entered a “new historical stage of development” and North Korea will “steadily strive to consolidate and develop the friendly and cooperative relations” with China as required by the new era, the official Korean Central News Agency said.
China is North Korea’s longtime economic benefactor, but its trade with its smaller neighbor in the first half of 2024 remained below pre-COVID levels of 2019 despite the resumption of bilateral freight shipments following the easing of pandemic-related restrictions.
Some observers have pointed out signs of a downturn in the relationship after Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty in June, which boosts military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow.
The move is believed to have displeased Beijing, while Pyongyang seems discontent with China maintaining its distance from North Korea in the security field.
On Sunday, North Korea’s official newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, ran an article about the two leaders’ exchange of messages on its fourth page rather than the front page.
In April, Zhao Leji, the third-ranked member of the ruling Chinese Communist Party’s leadership, visited Pyongyang and vowed to deepen bilateral ties in his meeting with Kim. He was the highest Chinese official to visit North Korea since Xi traveled there in June 2019.
It remains unclear whether a senior North Korean official will reciprocate later this year by visiting China to mark the anniversary year.
In terms of tourism, North Korea has yet to reopen its doors to Chinese tourists after shutting itself off for more than four years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In contrast, a small number of Russian tour groups have visited the country since early this year.
Before the public health crisis, Chinese nationals accounted for a large proportion of foreign tourists visiting North Korea.
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