New Delhi, June 11 -- After hosting the heads of state of two great powers, the United States and Russia, within the international system, Chinese President Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, met Kim Jong-un, general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and president of the State Affairs of the DPRK in Pyongyang on 8-9 June. This year marks the occasion of the 65th anniversary of the conclusion of the DPRK-China Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance.

Xi's state visit to DPRK - after a gap of seven years - is a departure from what has come to be a norm in the conduct of Chinese diplomacy in recent years. Xi Jinping prefers meeting foreign heads of state at home and genera...