Chinese President Xi Jinping, who visited Pyongyang, North Korea, for the first time in seven years, said "China–North Korea relations have stood at a new historic starting point," signaling an intention to elevate ties. As North Korea draws closer to Russia, China also appears to be showcasing solidarity among socialist allies to reaffirm its influence on the Korean Peninsula.
According to a compilation of major foreign media reports, including Xinhua News Agency, on the 9th, Xi said at a return speech at a welcome banquet held at Mokran House in Pyongyang on the 8th that "this year, China–North Korea relations are standing at a new historic starting point," emphasizing that "we will develop the relationship at a higher level, open up a more beautiful prospect for the socialist cause of the two countries, and continuously promote progress in human society." He went on to call the two countries "an unbreakable friendship that has shared a common destiny."
Kim Jong-un, Chairperson of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea, also responded with steadfast solidarity. In an earlier welcome address, Kim pledged, "We will guide China–North Korea friendship to a new height and develop it into the strongest and most strategic model of relations between socialist states." He added that ideological commonality and militant camaraderie are the solid cornerstone that has strengthened the two countries' solidarity.
Regarding the summit, experts assessed that China's strategic calculation is to pull North Korea back onto its own central orbit amid deepening North Korea–Russia military ties. John Delury, a senior fellow at the Asia Society in the United States, said in an interview with the Washington Post (WP), "Beijing does not want North Korea to drift too far from its orbit," adding, "Conversely, North Korea also does not want to be completely sucked into Chinese power."
Xi and Kim watched a welcome art performance, a symbol of the two countries' friendship, side by side at Pyongyang Gymnasium that night. The stage featured grand renditions of songs from both countries and a variety of circus arts. Immediately after the performance, Xi and Kim personally presented flower baskets to the performers who came onstage, cementing firm mutual trust and fraternal friendship as they brought the event to a close.