BEIJING, June 5 (Xinhua) — Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and Chinese president, will pay a state visit to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) from June 8 to 9 at the invitation of Kim Jong Un, general secretary of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) and president of the State Affairs of the DPRK.

Xi’s upcoming visit, his first to the neighboring country in seven years, is expected to draw a new blueprint for the development of relations between the two parties and the two countries, inject strong impetus into the joint cause of socialist construction, and make new contributions to regional peace, stability and prosperity.

STRATEGIC GUIDANCE

In a congratulatory message to Kim on the 80th anniversary of the founding of the WPK, in October 2025, Xi noted that in recent years, he has held multiple meetings with Kim to guide and steer the development of relations between the two parties and two countries, opening a new chapter in the China-DPRK friendship.

In March 2018, the two leaders held their first meeting, during which they reached principled consensus in four aspects on developing China-DPRK relations in the new era. Xi and Kim met three times in less than 100 days that year, making history in high-level exchanges between China and the DPRK.

The two leaders exchanged visits in the first half of 2019 and in September 2025, Kim made another visit to China. Since 2018, the top leaders of the two parties and the two countries have held six meetings and maintained close communication in various forms, leading the China-DPRK relations to forge ahead in the new era.

The strategic guidance of top leaders of the two parties and the two countries is the greatest political advantage and strongest guarantee for the development of relations between the two sides.

This year marks the 65th anniversary of the signing of the China-DPRK Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, making Xi’s upcoming visit to the DPRK even more important.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, and foreign leaders walk to Tian’anmen Rostrum ahead of a grand gathering to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 3, 2025. (Xinhua/Ding Lin)

For the two sides, deepening the friendship has always been an unwavering strategic choice.

No matter how the international situation changes, it remains the unwavering policy of the CPC and the Chinese government to maintain, consolidate and develop China-DPRK relations, Xi said in the congratulatory message on the 80th anniversary of the founding of the WPK.

« This is a strategic choice and the only right choice both sides have made based on history and reality, the international and regional structure and the general situation of China-DPRK ties. This should not and will not change because of any single event at a particular time, » he said in the meeting with Kim in 2018.

Over the years, Xi and Kim have had in-depth exchanges of views on major issues through various forms, supported each other on issues of major concern to each other, continuously consolidated mutual trust and built consensus.

Xi said in a meeting with Kim in Beijing last year that China has always maintained an objective and impartial stance, and stands ready to continue strengthening coordination with the DPRK so as to strive to maintain peace and stability of the peninsula.

CARRYING FORWARD TRADITIONAL FRIENDSHIP

The top leaders of the two parties and the two countries have stood together through thick and thin, enabling the traditional friendship between China and the DPRK to demonstrate vigorous vitality in the new era.

In a speech at the welcome banquet held by Kim during Xi’s state visit to the DPRK in 2019, Xi hailed the traditional friendship between the two sides a shared valuable asset forged and left by leaders of elder generations of both countries, saying that such a friendship has remained strong and vigorous despite constant changes.

During the visit, Xi paid homage to martyrs of the Chinese People’s Volunteers at the Friendship Tower in Pyongyang. Xi wrote down in the inscription book « To remember the martyrs » and « The China-DPRK friendship lasts from generation to generation. »

The traditional friendship between China and the DPRK was forged by the elder generation of leaders of the two parties and two countries, cemented in the revolutionary struggle, and continuously deepened in the course of socialist construction, Xi said in his exchange of New Year greeting messages with Kim in 2024.

A grand welcome ceremony is held by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) side for General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Sunan International Airport in Pyongyang, DPRK, June 20, 2019. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing)

During Xi’s visit to the DPRK in 2019, hundreds of thousands of residents in Pyongyang lined up the streets to welcome the Chinese president. Xi also watched a large group callisthenics and art performance.

During talks with Kim in Beijing last year, Xi, recalling the visit, said he could feel the family-like friendship between the two peoples all along the way.

The friendship between the two countries has been further reinforced by friendly exchanges between the two peoples. During their exchange of New Year greeting messages in 2024, Xi and Kim jointly designated 2024 as the China-DPRK Friendship Year.

In the message, Xi called on the two sides to carry forward the long-standing friendship, deepen strategic mutual trust, enhance exchanges and cooperation, and ensure that bilateral ties move forward with the times for greater development.

JOIN HANDS FOR NEW DEVELOPMENT

« Development » and « cooperation » have been frequently brought up during talks between Xi and Kim.

During the state visit to the DPRK in 2019, Xi suggested that the two sides expand practical cooperation to bring more benefits to both peoples.

The Chinese side stands ready to enhance strategic communication, maintain close exchanges and cooperation with the DPRK, and join hands to promote the China-DPRK friendship and the socialist cause of the two countries, Xi said in a congratulatory message on the 77th founding anniversary of the DPRK in 2025.

An Air China passenger plane from Beijing arrives at Sunan International Airport in Pyongyang, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), March 30, 2026. (Xinhua/Wang Chao)

On March 12, the international passenger trains connecting China and the DPRK began operating in both directions. On March 30, an Air China passenger plane from Beijing arrived in Pyongyang, marking the formal resumption of the Chinese carrier’s passenger flight operations between the capitals of China and the DPRK.

More than 20 shops of DPRK chamber of commerce and companies have settled in the Guomenwan trade zone in the city of Dandong. At the international commodity fair held twice a year in Pyongyang, a dazzling array of Chinese goods are also favored by local people.

In early May, a group of Chinese students arrived in Pyongyang and started studying in universities including Kim Il Sung University; In February 2025, the DPRK delegation participated in the 9th Asian Winter Games held in Harbin in China.

An international passenger train from Dandong of China to Pyongyang of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) arrives in Pyongyang, the capital of the DPRK, March 12, 2026. (Xinhua/Wang Chao)

From economic and trade exchanges to education and sports cooperation, China-DPRK exchanges and cooperation in various fields continued to deepen and has grown ever solid, bringing benefits to the peoples of both countries.

In recent years, party and government delegations from two countries have paid friendly visits to each other on many occasions, deepening inter-party exchanges and mutual learning of experiences in state governance, and promoting the steady and long-term development of the socialist cause of the two countries.

Both sides should enhance communication and coordination at all levels, and deepen inter-party communication and exchanges on governing experience, Xi said in a signed article on the DPRK’s mainstream media before his state visit in 2019.

A large group callisthenics and art performance is held at the May Day Stadium in Pyongyang, DPRK, June 20, 2019. (Xinhua/Shen Hong)