On September 29, 2025, the world found itself at a crossroads in the ever-evolving relationship between the United States, China, and North Korea—a triangle of power that continues to shape the global order. The day’s events, reports, and analyses painted a vivid picture of shifting allegiances, deepening rivalries, and the specter of a new cold war that feels less like a distant possibility and more like a present reality.
In a highly anticipated podcast episode titled “Why America Needs a New China Strategy,” veteran diplomat Kurt Campbell and China expert Rush Doshi dissected the roots and ramifications of the mounting tensions between Washington and Beijing. Their conversation, released on September 29, 2025, couldn’t have been timelier. Campbell, who has helped shape U.S. policy toward Asia under the Clinton, Obama, and Biden administrations, now chairs The Asia Group, a strategic advisory firm. Doshi, formerly the deputy senior director for China and Taiwan affairs in President Biden’s National Security Council and currently an assistant professor at Georgetown University, is also known for his influential book, The Long Game: China’s Grand Strategy to Displace American Order.
According to the podcast discussion, the United States’ perception of China has undergone a seismic shift over the past few decades. Once lauded as an “economic miracle” and the “workshop of the world”—a country whose factories churned out affordable goods for American homes—China now stands accused by U.S. officials of being the nation’s greatest threat. As reported in a recent article titled “China and the new cold war,” the narrative has turned from one of hopeful economic partnership to open hostility, with tariffs, sanctions, and military maneuvers dominating the headlines. The article asks, with a note of bewilderment, “Where does all this hostility come from?”
Campbell and Doshi offered their perspectives on this question. Doshi, drawing from his research and experience, pointed to China’s long-term strategic ambitions. “China’s leaders have never hidden their desire to reshape the regional and global order,” he said. “They saw the post-Cold War period as an opportunity, but also as a time to bide their time, strengthen their economy, and build up their military.” Campbell added, “We’re seeing the results of decades of careful planning. The U.S. needs a new approach—one that recognizes both the competitive realities and the need for diplomacy.”
While Washington and Beijing continue to spar, the Korean Peninsula is once again in the spotlight. On September 28, 2025, North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at Beijing’s Diaoyutai State Guesthouse. The meeting, which came just days after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s visit to China for its “Victory Day” military extravaganza, underscored the renewed warmth between the two neighbors.
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on September 29 that Choe and Wang had reached “complete agreement” on regional and international issues, though the specifics remained under wraps. Choe, in her remarks, praised China’s “growing global stature,” citing its “Victory Day” celebrations as evidence of Beijing’s “historic achievements and comprehensive strength.” She echoed Kim Jong-un’s assertion that the friendship between China and North Korea “will never change regardless of international circumstances.”
Wang Yi, for his part, hailed Choe’s visit as a milestone, noting, “The Xi-Kim summit set out the direction and a blueprint for taking China–North Korea relations to a new, higher stage.” It was Choe’s first solo trip to China since becoming foreign minister in June 2022, a detail that speaks to the significance both sides attach to the relationship.
Amid this diplomatic choreography, speculation has been swirling about a possible visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to Pyongyang next month for the 80th anniversary of North Korea’s Workers’ Party. Such a gesture would be seen as a reciprocal move following Kim’s journey to Beijing earlier in September. If Xi were to attend the October 10 military parade, it would mark his first trip to North Korea since 2019 and would send a powerful signal about the two countries’ deepening ties.
However, many analysts remain skeptical. “With major domestic political meetings and the APEC summit ahead, October is not the right time for Xi to make a trip to Pyongyang,” Lee Dong-gyu, a research fellow at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, told Aju Press. Jung Byoung-kon, a senior research fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification, concurred, noting, “While such a trip would be welcomed by Pyongyang, it risks reinforcing a new Cold War alignment, which is not in China’s long-term national interest.”
Indeed, Xi is already expected to visit Gyeongju, South Korea, for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit from October 31 to November 1, 2025. This event is shaping up to be a diplomatic flashpoint of its own, with Beijing and Washington reportedly preparing for the first in-person meeting between Xi and U.S. President Donald Trump since the latter’s return to office.
Regardless of Xi’s travel plans, Pyongyang is forging ahead with preparations for what satellite imagery suggests will be one of its largest-ever military parades. Seoul-based SI Analytics has tracked more than five months of activity at Mirim Airfield, with at least 14,000 personnel and some 700 trucks involved—a scale that dwarfs previous displays. The extended preparation period hints at something truly grand, possibly surpassing the spectacle seen in 2023.
There is also the matter of new weaponry. The SI Analytics report indicates that North Korea may use the occasion to unveil advanced systems, including the Hwasong-20 intercontinental ballistic missile and AI-enabled drones. Such developments would undoubtedly draw global attention, raising fresh concerns about the region’s security environment.
For China, the parade and its attendant symbolism present both opportunities and risks. On one hand, a visible show of solidarity with North Korea reinforces Beijing’s image as a regional heavyweight and a steadfast ally—an image Choe Son Hui was keen to amplify during her visit. On the other, an overt embrace of Pyongyang at this juncture could deepen the perception of a new cold war divide, complicating China’s relations with the United States and its partners in the region.
As the U.S. recalibrates its China strategy—grappling with the reality that the era of economic optimism has given way to suspicion and rivalry—diplomats and analysts alike are searching for a path forward. Campbell and Doshi, in their podcast, urged policymakers to balance vigilance with engagement, warning that the stakes have rarely been higher. “We need to be clear-eyed about the risks, but also about the possibilities for coexistence,” Campbell said. Doshi echoed this sentiment: “A new strategy must be rooted in realism, but also in the recognition that outright confrontation serves no one’s interest.”
With October’s parade looming and high-level summits on the horizon, the world watches as these three nations navigate a landscape fraught with both peril and possibility. The next moves—whether made on the parade ground, at the negotiating table, or behind closed doors—will help determine not only the future of the region, but the shape of the global order for years to come.