President Xi Jinping is sending top aide Li Zhansu to North Korea to be his representative for the 70th anniversary of North Korea's founding which is to be celebrated on Sept. 9. Li is the chairman of the National People's Congress and the third-ranking official of the country's Communist Party's Politburo Standing Committee.
Relations between China and North Korea had been tensed since Beijing supported United Nations' sanctions on Pyongyang over accusations that it has no plans of fulfilling its denuclearization program promised to the international community. The tensed situation calmed this year when North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un visited China three times since March.
The thawing relation between Beijing and Pyongyang, however, has placed China in a difficult position. The United States accused Beijing of being reluctant in imposing the U.N. sanction on North Korea. Washington also believed that China has been helping Pyongyang to balance its economy as more sanctions are in place. It also accused Beijing of being reluctant about calls for North Korea's denuclearization. As a result, U.S. President Donald Trump engaged China in a trade war now being touted by economists as the largest of its kind.
Amid this extremely complicated backdrop, political analysts believe that Xi made a strategic decision to send his top aide to attend North Korea's founding anniversary. By sending his most trusted right-hand man, Xi is sending a message to Washington that its accusations are unfounded and it remains committed on sanctions placed on Pyongyang over its ballistic missile and nuclear weapons. At the same time, by sending Li, the Chinese president is affirming its commitment to improved relations with North Korea.
Zhao Tong, a fellow at the Carnegie-Tsinghua Center for Global Policy in Beijing, told The Wall Street Journal the move shows China's priority is to resolve the trade conflict with the United States. On the other hand, it also shows that China wants to nurture the warming relations with Pyongyang.
Zhang Baohui, a professor at Lingnan University in Hong Kong explained to South China Morning Post that sending a top official will be interpreted as a goodwill gesture to North Korea and at the same time proved to Trump that he was wrong about China all along.
Boo Seunchan, a research fellow at the Yonsei Institue for North Korean Studies in Seoul, expressed the same opinion. The researcher said Xi's personal attendance in the event could worsen the escalating US-China trade war.
Meanwhile, South Korean President Moon Jae-in has also sent a special envoy to North Korea on Wednesday, The New York Times reported. He sent his national security adviser to meet with Kim Jong-un.
The South Korean president also spoke with Trump over the phone to plan a meeting at the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York this month. The two leaders agreed to discuss North Korea's nuclear program and steps to address the issues.
