XI shows Trump who holds the cards as he sets up a meeting with Kim and Putin

The North Korean leader Kim Jong a military parade in the center of Beijing, alongside the Russian president Vladimir Putin and the Chinese leader Xi Jinping, is completely the photo shoot.

It is also a key diplomatic victory for XI.

The Chinese leader tried to project the power of Beijing on the international scene – not only as the second world economy, but also as a diplomatic heavyweight.

He highlighted the role of China as a stable trading partner while Trump’s prices have turned economic relations upside down.

Now, while an agreement with Putin to put an end to the war in Ukraine continues to escape the American president, Xi is about to welcome him in Beijing.

Kim’s attendance, a surprise announcement, is no less important. Trump said last week at a meeting with the South Korean president, whom he wanted to meet Kim Jong Une again.

His latest diplomacy with the reclusive dictator ended without pierced – despite two summits that captured the world. Trump suggests that he wants to try again.

Meanwhile, the Chinese leader indicates that he can hold geopolitical cards in this game, and that his influence – although limited – on Kim and Putin can be crucial in any agreement.

The September 3 parade will see a demonstration of the military power of China to mark 80 years since Japan went during the Second World War, ending its occupation of parts of China.

But now XI has also transformed it into a display of something more – and timing is the key. The White House suggested that President Trump could be in the region at the end of October and is open in Reunion XI.

There are many on the table to discuss, a long-awaited price agreement and the sale of Tiktok in the United States, the capacity of Beijing to persuade Putin to accept a cease-fire or more in Ukraine.

Now, after meeting Kim and Putin, the Chinese chief could sit with Trump without having the impression of having been excluded from the loop – and taking into account his close relationship with the two leaders, he can even have information that his American counterpart does not.

Russia and North Korea are outsets in the eyes of the Western world. Kim for much longer than Putin because of her arms program, but his support for Ukraine’s invasion by Moscow has renewed the conviction.

The invitation to Beijing is therefore a big step for him – the last time a North Korean leader attended a military parade in China, it was in 1959.

There have been few public contacts between XI and Kim since 2019, when they met to mark the 70th anniversary of the Chinese-North-Korean links. Beijing was also Kim Jong one in 2018 Kim Jong before his heights with President Trump to limit the Pyongyang nuclear program.

More recently, Xi even seemed to be on the sidelines of an alliance of Moscow-Pyongyang, an alliance, the one of which Beijing perhaps wanted no part.

China has tried to remain publicly neutral in the war in Ukraine, while urging a peaceful solution. But the United States and its allies have accused Beijing of supporting Moscow’s efforts by providing components that Russia can use in its war effort.

Some analysts wondered if China’s relationship with North Korea was embittered while Kim was getting closer to Putin. But Kim’s visit to Beijing next week suggests the opposite.

It is not a relationship that the North Korean leader can easily give up – his economy strongly depends on China, which provides almost 90% of food imports. And be on this stage with not only Putin and XI, but other leaders, Indonesia, Iran, etc., also offers Kim’s legitimacy.

For XI, this is a diplomatic lever effect with Washington before a possible summit with Trump.

The two countries have continued talks to try to conclude an agreement and avoid ruinous prices and a trade war. Another 90 -day break is underway, but the clock turns, so Xi will want the strongest as possible over the negotiations.

He has a lot to offer: China helped Trump in the past when he tried to meet Kim Jong a. XI could redo that?

The most important thing is perhaps the role that China could play in ending the war in Ukraine.

The most striking question of everyone: could there be a meeting between XI, Putin, Kim and Donald Trump?