Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un arrive for a reception marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War 2, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, Sept. 3, 2025. Reuters-Yonhap
As Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in North Korea Monday for a two-day state visit, Beijing and Pyongyang moved quickly to project an image of unshakeable friendship — with state media on both sides amplifying rhetoric of blood-forged ties at a moment when North Korea's alignment with Russia has complicated China's position on the peninsula.
Analysts are divided on whether the coordinated signals are merely diplomatic or a precursor to an official elevation of bilateral relations to strategic partnership.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his wife Ri Sol-ju received Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan at Pyongyang's Sunan Airport at noon, according to China's state-run Xinhua News Agency. The official welcome ceremony was held at Kim Il Sung Square, where a 21-gun salute rang out. Large portraits of both leaders hung at the square's center, flanked by banners reading "Sino-Korean friendship is eternal" and "Long live the friendship and solidarity between the peoples of the two countries" in Korean and Chinese. As the two leaders reviewed the honor guard from the podium, the guards called out in Korean, "Comrade Xi Jinping, be in good health."
