Present there from the DPRK side were the party of the special envoy: KPA Col. Gen. Ri Yong Gil; Kim Song Nam, vice department director of the WPK Central Committee; Kim Hyong Jun, vice-minister of Foreign Affairs; KPA Lieut. Gen. Kim Su Gil; and Ji Jae Ryong, DPRK ambassador to China.

Present from the Chinese side were Yang Jiechi, state councilor; Wang Jiarui, vice-chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and head of the International Liaison Department of the CPC Central Committee; Zhang Yesui, vice-minister of Foreign Affairs; the deputy director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee; Liu Jieyi, deputy head of the International Liaison Department of the CPC Central Committee; Yang Yanyi, assistant to the head of the International Liaison Department of the CPC Central Committee; and officials concerned.

Choe Ryong Hae conveyed greetings sent by Kim Jong Un to Xi Jinping.

Xi Jinping expressed deep thanks for this and asked Choe Ryong Hae to convey his cordial greetings to Kim Jong Un.

Choe Ryong Hae courteously conveyed Kim Jong Un's personal letter to Xi Jinping.

Xi Jinping expressed deep thanks once again to Kim Jong Un for dispatching Choe Ryong Hae as his special envoy and conveying his personal letter.

Kim Jong Un in his personal letter underlined the need to carry forward and consolidate the traditional DPRK-China friendship provided and cultivated by the revolutionaries of the elder generation of the two countries, Xi Jinping said, noting that the Chinese party and government deem it very important to develop the Sino-DPRK friendly relations on a strategic level and from a long-term viewpoint and that it is the consistent policy of the Chinese party and government to inherit the tradition, face up to the future and strengthen cooperation.

The Chinese party and government hope for expanding the friendly exchange and cooperation with the party and government of the DPRK, he noted.

The Chinese party and government have consistently supported the building of a thriving socialist nation of Korean style, he said, wishing the DPRK success in developing the economy and improving the standard of people's living.

Choe Ryong Hae said that the DPRK and the PRC are friendly neighbors linked by the same mountain and rivers and their friendship has a long history and tradition. It is the invariable stand of the party and government of the DPRK to boost the long-standing traditional friendship between the DPRK and China, he said.

The armies and peoples of the two countries know well that the DPRK-China friendship associated with the devoted efforts of the revolutionaries of the elder generation of the two countries is a precious one which cannot be exchanged for anything, he said, expressing the belief that the traditional friendship would further flourish in the future under the particular care of the top leaders of the two parties and two countries.

He expressed hope that the Chinese people would realize "the dream of China" and achieve bigger successes in accomplishing the socialist cause with Chinese characteristics under the leadership of the CPC with Xi Jinping as its general secretary.