Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Pyongyang for a two-day state visit to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
He landed at Pyongyang airport at around 10:30 a.m. local time. He is accompanied by his wife Peng Liyuan, Foreign Minister Wang Yi and senior party official Cai Qi. In an official article published in the North Korean newspaper “Rodong Sinmun“ on the day of his arrival, Xi urged the two countries to jointly oppose “hegemonicism and pressure politics”.
This is the first visit by a Chinese leader to North Korea in seven years (his last was in 2019) and his first trip abroad this year. The visit coincides with the 65th anniversary of the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance between the two countries, signed in 1961.
The visit comes just weeks after Xi Jinping hosted US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing. It is a clear sign of Beijing's desire to maintain and demonstrate its leading influence over the DPRK, especially against the backdrop of increased military and economic rapprochement between Pyongyang and Moscow over the past year.
Before Xi's arrival, North Korea demonstrated a new uranium enrichment plant. The North Korean leader's sister, Kim Yo-jong, has made an official statement that the country's nuclear status is an "absolute red line" and Pyongyang will not accept US demands for denuclearization. Analysts say Beijing may tacitly accept the DPRK's nuclear status to use it as a strategic buffer against Washington.
The leaders are expected to discuss the resumption of Chinese tourism in North Korea, joint economic projects along the border and the official opening of the new bridge over the Yalu River, which has remained unused for many years.
China remains Pyongyang's most important economic partner, providing over 90% of the country's legal trade.