The leaders of China and North Korea are to hold a summit in Pyongyang next week, a move that analysts warn could embolden Kim Jong Un's nuclear programme and further isolate the regime. The visit, the first by a Chinese president in 14 years, comes as denuclearisation talks with the United States remain stalled. For ordinary North Koreans, the meeting may bring little relief from crippling sanctions and food shortages.
But for Beijing, it is a strategic play to maintain influence on the Korean peninsula and push back against American dominance. Workers in China's rust belt, already feeling the sting of trade tariffs, will watch nervously for any escalation in global tensions that could hit exports. The summit underscores the contradictions at the heart of China's policy: publicly calling for peace while propping up a regime that threatens it.
