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Chinese President Xi Jinping received a colorful welcome from North Koreans on Monday, as he arrived in Pyongyang for his first summit in the country in seven years.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his wife, Ri Sol-ju, received the Chinese leader in Pyongyang’s Kim Il-sung Square, where Mr. Xi was greeted by a massive military band, scores of cheering citizens and banners that read “Eternal Friendship between North Korea and China.”
Mr. Xi praised the strength of the China-North Korea partnership during turbulent times, adding that the two nations are “shouldering new missions,” according to a state-affiliated media readout.
He also said China is prepared to expand its partnership with Pyongyang in agriculture, construction, economics, trade and health.
Mr. Xi is expected to stay in North Korea for meetings with the nation’s most senior officials on Monday and Tuesday, though no details about their agenda have been made public.
This year marks the 65th anniversary of the signing of the China-North Korea mutual defense treaty, and Mr. Xi could use the meeting to bolster ties with its northeastern neighbor as tensions between Beijing and Washington simmer.
The summit is the latest in a series of high-profile meetings Mr. Xi has held with foreign leaders in recent months as he looks to project China’s global power.
Since April, Mr. Xi has hosted Taiwanese opposition leader Cheng Li-wun, President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin for meetings in Beijing.
This week’s talks with Mr. Kim will be the first time that Mr. Xi has met with the North Korean leader since the September 2025 summit in Beijing, which included Mr. Putin.
Mr. Xi could also use his visit to North Korea to reestablish geopolitical dominance after years of increasingly warm relations between Moscow and Pyongyang.
North Korea has consistently offered material and political support to Russia’s war against Ukraine, even sending some of its own troops to fight on Moscow’s side. Mr. Kim’s growing alliance with Russia could reduce Beijing’s overall influence.
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