With Xi’s visit to Pyongyang, some observers speculated that he sought to lessen US pressure in exchange for progress on North Korean denuclearization. But China handles North Korea for its own sake and particular reasons, not to “play the North Korea card” in dealing with the US.

Xi’s recent visit to Kim Jong-un affirmed China-North Korea ties—Beijing will not break with Pyongyang to appease the US. However, China can still play a constructive role in encouraging a new round of Xi-Trump talks to lay the foundations for peace on the Korean Peninsula.

Xi Jinping is expected to make a trip to Pyongyang in the coming weeks. Between the unpredictable U.S.-North Korea relationship, the tumultuous China-U.S. trade war, and strengthening Washington-Moscow ties, Xi has many reasons to make a long-awaited visit his unpredictable neighbor.

Despite Trump’s diplomacy, North Korea will likely keep its nuclear capabilities while seeking more economic integration. This will pose complications for China, as either the US or other regional powers will pursue greater deterrence against a de facto nuclear North Korea.

Move comes despite breakdown in nuclear talks with U.S., and is seen as a potential signal of economic support for Pyongyang.

The United States imposed sanctions on Thursday on two Chinese shipping companies it says helped North Korea evade sanctions over its nuclear weapons program, the first such steps since a U.S.-North Korean summit collapsed last month.

To his credit, President Trump was willing to help break the Korean deadlock. But the recent summit was a beginning, not the end. Washington needs to build a relationship with the Kim government, and that process will be smoother if the U.S. also improves its ties with Beijing.

China and the US should work together to keep North Korea to its word and denuclearize the Korean Peninsula.

Commentary following the historic Singapore Summit between American President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un framed the meeting as a tremendous success for President Xi Jinping, with results that leave China’s path to hegemony in the Asia-Pacific clear. But another thesis has also reared its head: that the summit’s peaceful outcome has created new obstacles for the PRC.

While China may not have the power to bring North Korea and the United States together for talks, Beijing’s role in a lasting peace agreement cannot be understated. If President Trump is not attentive to China’s priorities on the Korean Peninsula, he will not get far with the North Korean regime in negotiations.