Xi Jinping arrives in Pyongyang on trip to revitalise China-North Korea ties

Kim Jong-un welcomes Chinese leader on visit to renew relations strained amid Pyongyang’s closeness with Russia

Xi Jinping has arrived in North Korea for a two-day trip, his first in nearly seven years, as China’s leader looks to revitalise ties with his junior ally.

Footage published by China’s Xinhua state news agency showed an Air China plane carrying Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, touching down at Pyongyang’s Sunan international airport.

A red carpet lined with North Korean honour guards greeted Xi and his entourage, which included the foreign minister, Wang Yi, and Cai Qi, the Chinese leader’s de facto chief of staff.

Xi and Peng made their way to Kim Il-sung Square in central Pyongyang, where they were greeted by the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, and his wife, Ri Sol-ju. Children presented them with flowers at a colourful welcome ceremony featuring a military band playing the countries’ national anthems along with a 21-gun salute.

Crowds of people carrying flags, flowers and balloons were flanked by banners reading: “We warmly welcome Comrade Xi Jinping” and hailing the countries’ “unbreakable friendship”.

After the ceremony, Kim and Ri reportedly escorted Xi and Peng to the Kumsusan guesthouse, a luxurious state-owned villa compound completed in 2019 to host visiting world leaders.

There, the leaders held talks on trade and cooperation. On Monday evening, Xi released a statement in which he affirmed China’s support for North Korea “no matter how the international situation changes”.

Xi also called on China and North Korea to “expand pragmatic cooperation in economy and trade”, according to the state media agency Xinhua. “The two sides should take the opportunity of the full reopening of border ports and the resumption of operation of civil aviation flights and international passenger trains to expand personnel exchanges and realise two-way travel,” he said.

Kim congratulated Xi on China’s “amazing development achievements” and his efforts to promote “world peace”, according to Xinhua.

North Korea is China’s only formal treaty ally but in recent years their relationship has been strained by a virtual freeze in trade during the Covid-19 pandemic and Pyongyang’s increasingly close relationship with Russia.

Xi’s trip comes ahead of the 65th anniversary of the signing of the friendship and mutual assistance treaty between China and North Korea, a pact that is still China’s only defence agreement with another country.

Chinese and North Korean troops fought alongside each other against South Korea in the Korean war in the early 1950s. But