In photos: Pyongyang turns out for China's Xi
AI Summary
Chinese President Xi Jinping is visiting Pyongyang for a two-day state visit—his first in nearly seven years—to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The trip occurs amid strained China-North Korea relations, with pandemic-era trade decline and North Korea's strengthening ties with Russia having created distance between the two allies. China is offering economic and political support to revitalize the bilateral partnership and reassert its influence.
Progressive: Progressive-leaning outlets emphasize the strained state of the China-North Korea relationship, highlighting pandemic-era trade decline and North Korea's pivoting toward Russia as factors that prompted Beijing to work toward restoring ties.
Moderate: Centrist outlets focus on China's strategic interest in reasserting influence over North Korea as a vital but unpredictable partner, emphasizing Beijing's provision of economic and political benefits to strengthen the bilateral relationship.
As Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Pyongyang on Monday for a state visit, the North Korean capital rolled out a citywide welcome.
According to the North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency, Xi was greeted by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his wife, Ri Sol-ju, at Sunan International Airport in Pyongyang.
He was then welcomed by crowds waving flowers, balloons and national flags of both countries as his motorcade passed through the capital, along with military displays and formal c ...