Wang Xiangwei

China Briefing | Kim Jong-un’s Air China summit charter is proof Beijing is wind beneath his wings

In many ways China can take credit for the outcome of the Trump-Kim summit, but the long-term prospects of closer relations between such unpredictable leaders could make some more than a bit jittery

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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump at the Capella Hotel on Sentosa island, Singapore. Photo: AFP

Wang Xiangwei

Published: 9:30am, 17 Jun 2018Updated: 12:23pm, 17 Jun 2018

A picture is worth a thousand words. The proverb sprang to mind when the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, smiling and dressed in a Mao-style suit, stepped off the red-carpeted stairs of a Boeing 747 jumbo jet with the difficult-to-miss markings of Air China and its Phoenix logo. The visual that Kim flew on the Chinese special jet to Singapore for the historic summit with the US President Donald Trump is a subtle but apt reminder of China’s influences in the rapidly changing geopolitical game over the Korean denuclearisation issue, one of the world’s powder kegs.

Kim may have chosen the Chinese jumbo jet for safety and practical reasons. His own personal jet is a Soviet-era Ilyushin II, a long-range jet that was discontinued in 1995. Besides, Chinese pilots are more experienced in flying the long-distance journey of nearly 5,000km, despite the fact that Kim’s own personal jet, along with another North Korean plane, was also flown to Singapore on the same day, perhaps as a decoy.

Even if Trump-Kim summit clicks, Koreans might never

Chinese leaders, including President Xi Jinping, do not have their own private jets and Air China, the flag carrier, usually reconfigures the commercial jets for such special uses, reverting them back to commercial mode afterwards.

Kim’s decision to borrow a jet normally reserved for Chinese leaders has thus added a symbolic twist to the unfolding drama. China was not in the room where the Singapore summit was held, but its influence continued to loom large.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Chinese President Xi Jinping in the Chinese city of Dalian. Photo: AFP

Indeed, Trump said as much in the post-summit press conference in Singapore on Tuesday. He thanked the Chinese for efforts to make his meeting with Kim possible, and said he would call Xi to discuss the talks, probably on his flight back home. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo flew to Beijing on Thursday, presumably briefing Chinese leaders about the talks in Singapore and seeking China’s support to ensure that North Korea would stick to its side of the bargain.