For the first time since 1970, a “foreign leader” writes a signed article on the front page of North Korea’s propaganda newspaper Rodong Shinbun (Workers’ Daily), putting Xi Jinping at the same level as Mao Zedong. Everybody wants at the moment China to be their rich uncle Interview with China specialist Michael Dillon 20/06/2019 Listen In a letter, ‘Writing a New Chapter in Sino-Korean Friendship,’ published in all major propaganda outlets of both communist countries, Xi Jinping says it is time for a new boost in the “70-year-old friendship” that was marked by “foreign invasions” and a struggle for “independence”.The last time a Chinese state leader visited Pyongyang was in 2005, when then Chinese president Hu Jintao met with Kim Jong-Un’s father, Kim Jong-Il.“This should be seen as a sign that President Xi is seeking to bring ever closer ties with the North Korean political regime,” says Dr. James F. Downes, of the Hong Kong Institute for Asia Pacific Studies.“This strategy could conceivably see China become closer to North Korea economically and seek to move North Korea further away from the United States’ sphere of influence.“If successful, such a strategy would be incredibly damaging for the Trump administration,” he says.Up…