China reacted quietly this week after Russia and North Korea have deepened their ties and vowed to stand up to the West, reports "Reuters".
Beijing avoids any tripartite agreement that could complicate its relations with other countries.
Yesterday, the Asian country watched from the sidelines as North Korean leader Kim Jong-un shared his "innermost thoughts" with visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin in Pyongyang.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said at a briefing only that the summit was a bilateral exchange between Russia and North Korea, but gave no details.
"China has certain reservations about North Korea's deepening military cooperation with Russia, which could undermine Beijing's near-total monopoly on geopolitical influence over Pyongyang,'' said Tong Zhao of the Carnegie Foundation. for international peace.
"In addition, China is careful not to create the impression of a de facto alliance between Beijing, Moscow and Pyongyang, as this will not be helpful for it to maintain practical cooperation with key Western countries," Zhao added.
Since North Korea eased border controls against the pandemic last year, trade with China has rebounded, but Kim's political engagement has been dominated by Russia.
Kim made his first - and so far only - trip to Russia since the pandemic to meet Putin last year. The Russian president is the first world leader to visit the politically and economically isolated North after the re-opening of its borders.
Russia also took the unprecedented step of using North Korean-made ballistic missiles, which are banned by UN Security Council resolutions, to strike targets in Ukraine.
China announced "limitless" relations with Russia just days before Moscow begins its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, but so far Beijing has avoided providing weapons and ammunition to the Russian military effort.
Beijing joined Russia in blocking new sanctions against North Korea at the Security Council, but abstained when Moscow vetoed the annual renewal of the panel of experts that monitors the implementation of sanctions against the DPRK.
A South Korean government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there is likely to be tension between Beijing and Pyongyang over the thousands of North Korean workers who remain in China in violation of UN resolutions.
China is North Korea's largest trading partner and the two countries share a mutual defense treaty dating back to the 1960s.
While that relationship is unlikely to change, Kim's engagement with Putin and their unpredictable behavior create new uncertainty for China, said Yun Sun, director of the China program at the Stimson Center. in Washington.
"Until there are clear developments and policies that challenge China's position, I would say that China is willing to sit back and watch how things go,'' she added.
For China, closer ties between Russia and North Korea are a distraction from the United States, and that is not necessarily a bad thing for Beijing, Sun said.
"China just needs to be careful not to portray it as a tripartite agreement that carries too much responsibility," she explained.
Although Beijing has clashed increasingly sharply with Washington over foreign policy and trade, it is far from the international pariah that Russia and North Korea have become. Last year, the United States and its allies Japan and South Korea topped the list of Beijing's biggest trading partners.
North Korea issued a rare public rebuke to China after Chinese Premier Li Qiang discussed the North's nuclear weapons with the leaders of South Korea and Japan at a summit in May.
Putin's visit to the North coincided with a visit by high-ranking Chinese officials to Seoul yesterday.
"Our country has expressed concern over Russian President Putin's visit to North Korea planned for the same day, and China has expressed hope that exchanges between Russia and North Korea will contribute to peace and stability in the region,'' South Korea said on the discussions that took place.
China will most likely become alarmed if North Korea's partnership with Russia leads to provocative behavior that makes the regional situation more difficult for Beijing, said Niklas Svanström, director of the Institute for Security and Development Policy in Sweden.
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"China wants to trade, rebuild its economy; they have other, more important concerns," he pointed out.