In a rare show of unity among some of the world’s most isolated regimes, Chinese President Xi Jinping is preparing to host Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Beijing this week. The meeting marks the first time the three leaders will come together, underscoring Xi’s growing influence over authoritarian states seeking to challenge the Western-led global order.
The Beijing summit builds on recent developments that have reshaped Asia’s security landscape. Russia and North Korea signed a mutual defense pact in June 2024, while Pyongyang also maintains a long-standing alliance with Beijing. Analysts say the gathering raises the possibility of a trilateral axis that could alter military calculations across the Asia-Pacific.
“We must continue to take a clear stand against hegemonism and power politics, and practice true multilateralism,” Xi said Monday, in a pointed rebuke aimed at the United States.
The leaders’ meeting follows a summit in Tianjin where Xi and Putin presented their vision of a new security and economic framework to more than 20 leaders from non-Western countries. Their encounter with Kim will also set the stage for a massive military parade in Beijing on September 3 to commemorate the end of World War II.
Xi has already met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who visited China for the first time in seven years, signaling a reset in strained relations even as U.S. tariffs on Indian goods test New Delhi’s ties with Washington.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump continues to promote his role as a peacemaker, pointing to a Ukraine peace summit he hosted with Putin in Alaska and his efforts to arrange a meeting with Kim later this year. But any consolidation of military power among Moscow, Beijing, and Pyongyang—particularly given Russia’s war in Ukraine—has raised alarm in Western capitals.
“Trilateral military exercises between Russia, China, and North Korea seem nearly inevitable,” said Youngjun Kim, an analyst at the U.S.-based National Bureau of Asian Research. He noted that while China and Russia once supported sanctions against North Korea, both are now drifting toward closer military cooperation with Pyongyang.
North Korea has already become a stakeholder in the Ukraine conflict. Beyond hosting Putin in Pyongyang earlier this year—the first such visit in 24 years—Kim has reportedly sent more than 15,000 troops to assist Russian forces, with some 600 killed in combat in Ukraine’s Kursk region, according to South Korean intelligence.
Putin has also pressed for a “fair balance in the security sphere,” shorthand for Moscow’s demands on NATO and European defense. His trip to Beijing, and the highly symbolic meeting with Xi and Kim, could offer insights into how Russia plans to pursue those goals. With Iran’s president also expected at Wednesday’s parade, observers warn of a growing “Axis of Upheaval” taking shape in open defiance of the West.
