Relations between China and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea currently stand at a new historical starting point, facing new development opportunities and shouldering new missions of the times, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese president, said on Monday.

Xi made the remarks in a signed article published in Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the DPRK, ahead of his state visit to the country on Monday and Tuesday, his first in seven years.

Xi said that he looks forward to meeting with Kim Jong-un, general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and president of the State Affairs of the DPRK, to discuss the traditional friendship between the two countries and exchange views on the overall development of bilateral relations.

Xi said that China and the DPRK are friendly socialist neighbors who stand by each other and share a common future.

No matter how times change or how the international landscape evolves, the traditional friendship between China and the DPRK remains unbreakable and enduring, constantly demonstrating vigorous vitality, Xi said.

Noting that top-level strategic guidance is the greatest strength of China-DPRK relations, Xi said that in recent years, he and Kim have held six meetings, maintaining close strategic communication and jointly drawing up a blueprint for the development of China-DPRK relations.

Xi also said that a shared socialist ideal is a defining feature of China-DPRK relations, and that the traditional friendship between the two countries, rooted in a shared future, forms the solid foundation of bilateral ties.

"High-level strategic coordination gives China-DPRK relations their contemporary significance," Xi said. "Promoting long-term peace and stability in the region, as well as world peace and stability, is a common pursuit of the two parties, the two countries and their peoples."

The two sides firmly support each other in safeguarding national sovereignty, security and development interests, and work together to uphold regional peace and tranquility, international fairness and justice, and the postwar international order, Xi said.

Noting that maintaining, consolidating and developing China-DPRK relations has always been an unwavering policy of the CPC and the Chinese government, Xi said that China stands ready to work with the DPRK to steer bilateral relations from a strategic perspective, keep China-DPRK relations abreast of the times and achieve greater development of the relationship.

The two sides should deepen strategic communication and firmly steer China-DPRK relations in the right direction, Xi said, calling for upholding the fine tradition of high-level exchanges between the two parties and the two countries, and maintaining close contacts like relatives.

The two sides should take the 65th anniversary of the China-DPRK Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance as an opportunity, strengthen exchanges at all levels and across party, government and military institutions, implement the important consensus reached by the two sides, and add fresh impetus to the development of bilateral relations.

Xi said the two countries should strengthen communication and mutual learning to jointly promote the steady development of the two countries' socialist cause.

China and the DPRK should support each other in pursuing socialist paths suited to their own national conditions, firmly safeguard the political security of both nations, continue to expand exchanges and cooperation between the two parties, and deepen exchanges of experience and mutual learning on party and state governance, Xi said.

The two countries should expand practical cooperation and continuously enhance the well-being and friendship of the two peoples, Xi said, adding that the two sides should enhance the alignment of development strategies, tap the potential for cooperation in various fields, share opportunities and promote development together, in order to better benefit the two peoples.

Xi also called for close multilateral coordination and firmly safeguarding international fairness and justice.

The two sides should strengthen strategic communication and coordination, and jointly uphold the international system with the United Nations at its core and the international order based on international law, Xi said, adding that the two sides should oppose hegemonism and power politics, and reject any scheme or action aimed at reviving militarism and undermining regional security and stability.

The two countries should jointly promote an equal and orderly multipolarization of the world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization, implement the four major global initiatives put forward by China, and work together to build a community with a shared future for humanity, he added.

XINHUA-CHINA DAILY