Xi Jinping's visit to North Korea is seen as a barometer of China's relations in Asia and its regional strategy vis-à-vis the United States. Beijing and Pyongyang maintain a special relationship, based on a treaty of friendship and mutual assistance, while China remains the main economic and political support of the North Korean regime. For Emmanuel Véron, specialist in contemporary China and associate researcher at Inalco, this visit also aims to “create the conditions for a face-to-face meeting with the United States”. North Korea regularly constitutes an adjustment variable in Sino-American relations, while the survival of Kim Jong-un's regime largely depends on Chinese support.