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Editor's Note:

Chinese President Xi Jinping is scheduled to visit North Korea on Thursday and Friday. How will the visit influence dynamics on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia? The Global Times talked with two Chinese experts on the issue.

Lü Chao, a research fellow on North Korea with the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences

President Xi's upcoming visit to North Korea is a formal state visit and also a reciprocal trip to North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un's visit to China. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China and of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and North Korea - a significant year for both countries. 

Xi's visit will further improve the traditional friendship between China and North Korea, promote interaction among their people and increase interaction between the Communist Party of China and the Workers' Party of Korea - the ruling parties in the two countries. 

China is playing an important role as a stabilizer in Northeast Asia. 

Xi's visit is expected to promote peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and thus stabilize the situation in the region. 

China has been attaching importance to the situation on the Korean Peninsula, as it is directly related to China's peripheral security. The Korean Peninsula nuclear issue has been under international spotlight. 

Before the upcoming G20 summit in Osaka, Japan, Xi's visit to North Korea will allow the two countries to carry out better strategic communication, which is conducive to better coordination among all sides involved in the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue. 

In addition to showing the importance of traditional friendship between China and North Korea, the agenda of Xi's visit also shows that China, as a major responsible power, is willing to properly deal with the concerns of all sides and better promote a peaceful solution of the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.

US President Donald Trump is scheduled to visit South Korea in late June, which shows that the US wants to further strengthen its influence on the Korean Peninsula and achieve its stated objectives on the nuclear issue. 

China and the US have relatively consistent goals for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. There is room for the two countries to cooperate to maintain peace on the peninsula, although they have differences on implementation of denuclearization and in judging the situation in Northeast Asia. 

China encourages North Korea and the US to take negotiations forward and work to alleviate the crisis on the peninsula.

Yang Mian, professor at the Institute of International Relations of the Communication University of China

President Xi's visit is undoubtedly a big event in China-North Korea relations. This is a great opportunity for the two countries to further deepen their relations.

Kim Jong-un has visited China four times, and the two leaders have shared opinions of the situation on the Korean Peninsula. 

Now North Korea has changed its strategy. Pyongyang has made known its position that it is willing to abandon nuclear weapons and focus on improving the country's economy, which provides even larger space for China-North Korea cooperation. 

China will continue to support North Korea in its economic growth and improving North Korean people's livelihood. President Xi's visit will not only help develop ties between the two countries, but also inject new impetus for peace and development in the whole of Northeast Asia. This will also impact those who still have an outdated Cold War mind-set.

Prior to his visit, President Xi wrote a signed article published in North Korean state newspaper Rodong Sinmun on Wednesday, in which he said that China supports North Korea's correct direction in politically resolving issues on the Korean Peninsula. 

During the process of resolving these issues, China has shouldered great responsibility and has helped open a channel of direct communication between North Korea and the US. It is impossible to exclude China from the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.

Now that North Korea has halted its nuclear program, and the US and South Korea have ended their annual large-scale joint military exercises. Both Beijing and Pyongyang cherish the hard-won peace on the peninsula, and are willing to peacefully resolve the issues through talks and negotiations. 

During Xi's upcoming visit, the two sides will further exchange views on the situation on the peninsula, which will help all sides resolve the issues politically.

2019 marks the 70th anniversary of China and North Korea's diplomatic ties. China and North Korea have the same social system, and they have formed a deep friendship as neighbor countries. President Xi's visit will further open a new chapter in China-North Korea relations.