Chinese President Xi Jinping has touched down in Pyongyang for his first state visit in nearly seven years. The arrival marks a significant moment in relations between China and North Korea, two neighbours whose ties have cooled in recent years.
The trip takes the form of a two-day summit, which is expected to focus on reviving the strained relationship between the two nations. The timing comes as both sides look to recalibrate their ties in the period following the pandemic.
Relations between China and North Korea have been at a low point, a period that became especially pronounced as the two countries emerged from the pandemic. The visit is being read as an attempt to move past that phase of distance between Beijing and Pyongyang.
During that stretch, North Korea spent a great deal of time cultivating its relationship with Russia. Pyongyang has prioritised those ties, placing them ahead of its relationship with China as it reshaped its foreign policy.
As a result, China had taken something of a back seat in North Korean foreign policy. The shift left Beijing in a less central position than it had traditionally held with its neighbour, setting the backdrop for the current visit.
Signs of a thaw had already begun to emerge. Kim Jong-un's visit to Beijing last September for a Victory Day parade has been seen as the start of an effort to rebuild the relationship, a process that Xi Jinping's trip to Pyongyang now appears to carry forward.