Backgounder: Major events in development of Sino-DPRK relations

2009-10-04 18:35 BJT

BEIJING, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping began an official good-will visit to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Tuesday at the invitation of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) and the DPRK government.

The following are some major events witnessing the development of the relations between China and the DPRK since the two countries established diplomatic relations on Oct. 6, 1949.

After the Korean War broke out in 1950, the Chinese People's Volunteers and the DPRK People's Army fought side by side and achieved a great victory, making a contribution to world peace;

On Nov. 23, 1953, China and the DPRK signed the Sino-Korean Agreement on Economic and Cultural Cooperation;

On July 11, 1961, the Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance between China and the DPRK was signed;

Since the 1950s, the DPRK leader Kim Il Sung visited China many times while Chinese leaders Zhou Enlai, Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping also visited the DPRK;

In the 1990s, General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Jiang Zemin, Premier Li Peng and President Yang Shangkun paid respective visits to the DPRK;

In May 2000, Jan. 2001, April 2004 and Jan. 2006, the DPRK's top leader Kim Jong Il paid four informal visits to China;

On Sept. 3-5, 2001, Chinese President Jiang Zemin paid an official good-will visit to the DPRK;

On Oct. 28-30, 2005, Chinese President Hu Jintao paid a three-day official visit to the DPRK;

China is the DPRK's main trading partner. In 2007, their bilateral trade volume reached 1.97 billion U.S. dollars, an annualized increase of 16.2 percent.

The two countries also maintain intense exchanges and cooperation in other areas such as military, culture, education, science and technology, and sports.

Editor: Du Xiaodan | Source: Xinhua