China’s No 4 official Wang Huning to head to North Korea as visits multiply

China’s fourth-ranked official, Wang Huning, will head to North Korea this week, the latest in a flurry of high-level exchanges between Beijing and Pyongyang.

Chinese state news agency Xinhua on Tuesday reported that Wang would lead a Communist Party and government delegation on an “official goodwill visit” to the country from Wednesday to Friday.

Wang is a member of the Politburo Standing Committee, the party’s leading decision-making body. He is also chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, the top political advisory body.

The trip comes days after North Korean Premier Pak Thae-song’s three-day visit to Beijing to mark the 65th anniversary of a friendship treaty between the two neighbours, which included a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

In the meeting, Xi called for Beijing and Pyongyang to expand cooperation, maintain “firm strategic resolve” and “resolutely defend our respective sovereignty, security and development interests”, according to a Chinese readout.