China’s fourth-highest-ranked official, Wang Huning, held talks with a top official of North Korea’s governing Workers’ Party

China’s fourth-highest-ranked official, Wang Huning, has held talks in Pyongyang with a top official from North Korea’s governing Workers’ Party, the Reuters news agency reports, citing the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

The meeting is the latest in a series of high-level exchanges between Beijing and Pyongyang following Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to North Korea in June – the first in seven years – as China seeks to shore up ties with its traditional ally.

The Chinese delegation reportedly arrived on Wednesday and met Jo Yong Won, a top official in the Workers’ Party.

Wang affirmed “the will of the Chinese party and the government” to implement the agreement reached between Xi and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during Xi’s visit to Pyongyang last month, KCNA reported on Thursday, according to Reuters.

During last month’s summit between Xi and Kim, the two leaders adopted what North Korean state media described as a “far-reaching blueprint” for strengthening “the most powerful and strategic relations”.

Xi pushed for closer diplomatic, law enforcement and military cooperation with North Korea during the visit, according to Chinese state media.

Though Pyongyang has drawn extremely close to Moscow in recent years, including signing a strategic defence agreement that saw thousands of North Korean troops deployed to fight in Russia’s war in Ukraine, China remains North Korea’s largest economic partner.

At this week’s meeting, Wang also referred to the 65th anniversary of friendship ties between the two countries, while Jo told Wang that North Korea seeks to develop strategic communication and tactical cooperation with Beijing.

The two officials discussed ways to improve public welfare and deepen mutual cooperation in business and culture, as well as between the two countries’ governing parties, KCNA added, without elaborating.

Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, says the flurry of high-level meetings reflects a shared desire to strengthen ties.

“North Korea wants to secure China’s vast economic and geopolitical backing, while China seeks to maintain its influence on the Korean Peninsula and avoid losing the initiative in Northeast Asian affairs,” he told Reuters.