Hu Jintao, president of China, said this when meeting the friendship delegation of the DPRK headed by Yang Hyong Sop, vice-president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, on a visit to China to attend the commemorations of the 50th anniversary of the DPRK-China treaty of friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Monday.

He went on to say:

For the two countries to commemorate the anniversary by dispatching delegations is of important significance in boosting the traditional Sino-DPRK friendly relations.

The two countries have respected, supported and cooperated and steadily encouraged each other to boost the relations of friendship and cooperation in the spirit of the treaty for the past five decades.

Kim Jong Il visited China several times, contributing to putting the Sino-DPRK friendship on a fresh stage of development.

It is the steadfast strategic line of the party and government of China to continue developing the said relations, he noted, expressing his will to boost, together with Korean comrades, high-level visits and exchange and expand economic trade and cooperation between both sides in the spirit of inheriting the tradition, facing up to the future, building good-neighborly friendship and strengthening cooperation.