Pyongyang - Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Pyongyang, North Korea on Monday, 8 June 2026 for a two-day state visit, marking his first trip to North Korea in seven years and his first overseas trip in 2026, shows good ties between the two neighboring countries.
President Xi's visit to Pyongyang is pledging to deepen strategic cooperation with North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un across diplomacy, military affairs, trade, and technology as Beijing moves to reassert its influence over an ally increasingly drawn into Moscow's orbit.
President Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan touched down at Pyongyang International Airport, where they were received by Kim Jong Un and his wife Ri Sol-ju. President Xi entourage are including Defense Minister Dong Jun, Foreign Minister Wang Yi, and senior Communist Party officials.
Upon President Xi and delegation arrival at Pyongyang International Airport, North Korean children presented flowers as honor guards from all three of North Korea's armed services lined the tarmac.
In talks that followed, President Xi called for injecting "powerful momentum" into bilateral ties, saying China was ready to expand cooperation in economics and trade, agriculture, health, construction, and science and technology.
He told Leader Kim that the two countries should strengthen strategic coordination and jointly safeguard their respective sovereignty, security, and development interests.
President Xi reaffirmed that China highly values its traditional friendship with North Korea and would not alter its support for Kim's leadership regardless of changes in the international environment.
Speaking at a state banquet hosted by Leader Kim on Monday evening, President Xi said the two leaders had reached "an important consensus" on strengthening bilateral ties.
In remarks carried by North Korean state media, President Xi also called on both countries to oppose "hegemony, authoritarianism and all attempts and conspiracies to revive militarism that endanger regional security and stability" — language widely seen as directed at the United States and Japan.
Leader Kim called President Xi "the greatest state guest" and said he viewed the fact that the Chinese leader choses North Korea as the destination for his first foreign trip of the year as "the most encouraging support" for Pyongyang.
Leader Kim Jong-un also reiterated North Korea's backing of Beijing's One China principle, affirming that Taiwan is an inalienable part of Chinese territory.
North Korean state news agency KCNA said the two leaders agreed to expand cooperation in politics, economy, and culture, opening what it described as a new chapter in bilateral ties.
