Beijing warns against linking Xi's upcoming visit to North Korea to Trump meeting at G20

"Some believe that China may use this visit [of the Chinese leader to North Korea] as leverage against the United States, but I would like to stress that it is better to refrain from speculation ... We hope that the public will form a clear idea of the upcoming visit and of our commitment to further developing friendly relations with Pyongyang and refrain from trying to make wrong and unjustified connections," the diplomat said.

The spokesman noted that Beijing and Pyongyang were neighbours that had maintained friendly relations for a long time.
Xi will pay his state visit to North Korea from June 20-21, dates that mark the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. It will become the first such visit of a Chinese leader in over a decade.
On the following week, the Chinese president is expected to meet with Trump during the G20 Summit in Japan to discuss ongoing trade tensions between their countries.

After the fruitless Hanoi meeting between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in February, the denuclearization dialogue reached a deadlock, with the United States demanding that North Korea completely dismantle its nuclear facilities for sanctions relief, and North Korea wanting a part of the restrictions to be lifted beforehand.