Xi Jinping Holds Relay of Meetings with Visiting Leaders... Will a North Korea-China Summit Happen?

Xi Jinping Holds Series of Bilateral Summits with Visiting Leaders
Focus Shifts to Potential North Korea-China Summit After Putin's Departure

Chinese President Xi Jinping held a series of bilateral meetings on September 4 (local time), the day after the military parade commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War Victory (Victory Day), with leaders from various countries visiting China. As President Xi continues his relay of meetings with visiting heads of state, attention is focused on whether a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will take place.

Yonhap News Agency

According to the state-run Xinhua News Agency, President Xi held successive meetings that morning with the leaders of Laos, Vietnam, Cuba, and Zimbabwe.

During the summit with Laos, President Xi stated, "Currently, the international and regional landscape is undergoing complex and serious changes," emphasizing that "the two countries must firmly support each other on issues concerning their respective core interests and major concerns."

In the summit with Vietnam, he said, "In the face of the resurgence of unilateralism and the law of the jungle, more and more countries are realizing that unity and self-reliance are the only hope," adding, "China wants to work with Vietnam to safeguard the common interests of the Global South."

As President Xi continues his active diplomatic schedule, there is growing attention on whether a North Korea-China summit will materialize. If such a meeting takes place, it will be the first summit between the two countries in about six years since the fifth summit held during President Xi's state visit to North Korea in June 2019. However, it has not yet been confirmed whether a North Korea-China summit will be held.

President Xi and Chairman Kim Jong Un watched the military parade together from the Tiananmen Gate tower the previous day, standing alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin. The bilateral summit between President Putin and President Xi took place earlier, on September 2, and after the parade, President Putin returned to Vladivostok in Russia's Primorsky Krai on September 4.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.