‘As close as lips and teeth’: The highs and lows of China-North Korea ties

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived successful Pyongyang connected Monday to the afloat theatre of North Korean authorities ceremony, with flags, flowers, subject honours and crowds to invited the person of the state that has agelong been 1 of North Korea’s closest allies.

Kim Jong Un and his wife, Ri Sol Ju, greeted Xi and wife, Peng Liyuan, astatine Pyongyang’s planetary airdrome earlier the Chinese person was taken to the capital’s main square, wherever portraits of Xi and Kim looked retired implicit the choreographed show of friendship.

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“Long Live the Unbreakable Friendship and Unity betwixt North Korea and China,” 1 banner read, according to Chinese quality outlet Xinhua.

Xi’s archetypal sojourn to North Korea since 2019 comes arsenic some governments are seeking to reaffirm a narration that has survived famine, atomic tensions, diplomatic strain and a shifting planetary order.

Their narration has often been described with an aged Chinese phrase: “As adjacent arsenic lips and teeth” – a metaphor famously archetypal utilized successful the 1950s by Chairman Mao Zedong to specify the adjacent ties of the historical allies .

Here’s a potted past of their close, and sometimes tumultuous, relationship.

A revolutionary bond

The roots of the narration pre-date the founding of some modern states, arsenic galore aboriginal North Korean leaders, including Kim Il Sung, had links to the Chinese Communist question earlier the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) was established successful 1948.  A twelvemonth later, connected October 6, 1949, North Korea and the recently founded People’s Republic of China established ceremonial diplomatic relations.

1950-1953 Korean War

The confederation betwixt them was soon tested by war, erstwhile North Korean forces were pushed backmost during the Korean War betwixt North Korea and South Korea.

China entered the conflict, sending ample numbers of troops from the People’s Volunteer Army crossed the Yalu River. The Chinese involution helped forestall the illness of North Korea and contributed to the stalemate that near the Korean Peninsula divided.

The quality outgo was immense, with China suffering casualties of betwixt 180,000 to 400,000, portion Korea was near devastated and partitioned. But from Beijing and Pyongyang’s perspective, the warfare forged a enslaved that inactive shapes the 2 nations’ corporate memory.

1961: Treaty of Friendship

In 1961, China and North Korea signed the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance. Its astir important clause commits each broadside to assistance the different if it comes nether equipped attack. The pact remains important due to the fact that it is China’s lone ceremonial defence pact with different country.

1960s-1970s: Sino-Soviet divided and China’s Cultural Revolution

Despite that, Beijing has not treated it arsenic a blank cheque for Pyongyang, and it has not ever trusted Beijing to enactment without calculation. That hostility has tally done the narration for decades, peculiarly during the Sino-Soviet split, erstwhile North Korea tried to debar taking sides betwixt Beijing and Moscow.

Relations with China worsened during the Cultural Revolution, but improved successful the 1970s. They cooled again erstwhile China rejected North Korean hopes of renewed struggle with the South, refusing assistance to invade South Korea.

1990s: China opens its system and normalises relations with South Korea

One of the biggest periods of turbulence successful the narration came aft China began opening its system and expanding ties with countries that North Korea viewed with suspicion. Beijing’s determination to normalise relations with South Korea successful 1992 was peculiarly unsettling for Pyongyang.

As China introduced market-oriented reforms portion retaining authorities power implicit cardinal parts of its economy, it opened up to planetary commercialized and overseas nonstop investment, and the neighbours began to travel progressively antithetic paths.

The illness of the Soviet Union – Pyongyang’s main backer – near North Korea progressively isolated and babelike connected China, creating caller strains successful a narration erstwhile rooted successful shared revolutionary ideals.

2006: China condemns North Korean atomic tests

North Korea’s atomic programme created different root of strain, with China repeatedly stating that it opposed atomic weapons connected the Korean Peninsula, and condemned North Korea’s atomic weapons tests, including the archetypal successful 2006.

Beijing besides did not reason respective rounds of United Nations sanctions against Pyongyang, adjacent arsenic it remained North Korea’s astir important economical lifeline.

Renewed warmth and robust trade

The existent warmth betwixt Xi and Kim follows respective years of renewed contact. Kim has visited China respective times since 2018, portion Xi travelled to Pyongyang successful June 2019.

While it has go progressively uncommon for Xi to question astatine each – astir overseas leaders person had to question to Beijing successful caller years – helium has taken the occupation to alert to Pyongyang for this latest visit.

Trade betwixt the 2 countries is robust. In the archetypal 2 months of 2026, bilateral commercialized roseate 22 percent compared with the aforesaid play a twelvemonth earlier, underlining the continued value of their economical relationship.

China besides accounts for the overwhelming bulk of North Korea’s authoritative trade. North Korea relies connected China for fuel, food, machinery, vehicles, electronics and user goods. Chinese companies and ports besides stay important gateways for North Korean exports. Those see minerals, seafood, robust and alloy goods, ticker components and wigs and mendacious hairsbreadth products. North Korea besides continues to question income from overseas labour, contempt UN sanctions aimed astatine cutting disconnected that gross stream.

However, analysts accidental China whitethorn beryllium acrophobic astir deepening relations betwixt North Korea and Russia – different crushed Xi whitethorn person decided to personally question to Pyongyang for this meeting.

As North Korea strengthens its subject and governmental ties with Russia, China has crushed to punctual some Pyongyang and the wider satellite that Beijing remains cardinal to North Korea’s future.

That economical narration gives Beijing sizeable influence, though Kim has repeatedly shown a willingness to prosecute his ain information strategy, adjacent erstwhile it complicates China’s diplomatic objectives.

What does the aboriginal hold?

A person narration with Pyongyang could besides fortify Xi’s manus successful immoderate aboriginal discussions astir the Korean Peninsula. United States President Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed involvement successful reviving diplomacy with Kim, adjacent arsenic tensions implicit North Korea’s atomic programme person resurfaced.

Last week, Kim unveiled a caller installation for producing atomic materials and vowed to grow the country’s atomic forces “at an exponential rate”, signalling that denuclearisation remains arsenic distant arsenic ever.

Ultimately, Beijing wants to debar struggle connected its border, support power connected the Korean Peninsula and guarantee that North Korea does not drift excessively acold into Moscow’s orbit. Xi’s sojourn is simply a reminder that, contempt shifting geopolitical currents, the narration betwixt China and North Korea remains 1 of the astir consequential partnerships successful East Asia.