Seoul (South Korea), June 8 (LaPresse) – Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived on Monday in Pyongyang for a state visit that, according to experts, is likely aimed at reaffirming China’s unique influence over North Korea in exchange for economic and political benefits. During a two-day trip, his first visit to North Korea in seven years, Xi will meet leader Kim Jong Un. It will be their first summit since September, when they met in Beijing after attending a military parade together with Russian President Vladimir Putin and other foreign leaders. The official Chinese news agency Xinhua reported that Xi arrived in Pyongyang, previously noting that his entourage includes his wife Peng Liyuan, Foreign Minister Wang Yi, and senior Communist Party official Cai Qi. No specific agenda has been mentioned. Foreign experts expect the meeting to have significant implications for bilateral relations and beyond, as both countries seek to fully restore their traditional alliance amid their respective confrontations with the United States. Xi’s trip follows his consecutive summits with U.S. President Donald Trump and Putin in Beijing last month. Xi is expected to meet Trump again during a scheduled visit to the United States in September. Xi will seek to demonstrate "China’s influence on the Korean Peninsula" and "its leadership role across Northeast Asia in the era of strategic competition with the United States," said Kwak Gil Sup, director of the One Korea Center, a website specializing in North Korean affairs.