Not so long ago, China was written off as a bystander to landmark events with regards to North Korea.

Marginalised and, some would say, irrelevant, Beijing was seen as a witness to an unstoppable rapprochement between North Korea and the United States which reached a dramatic climax in Singapore.

But Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, didn't need an invite to this week's historic summit to ensure his interests were represented and his objectives achieved.

Even without attending, he got everything he would have wanted.

The end of “war games” and a hint that US troops would be withdrawn from the Korean peninsula would remove two barriers to China's attempts to project its power across the region. Meanwhile, a softening of sanctions will only improve trade between its neighbour.