'I Love China' rings out in Pyongyang as Xi, Kim watch performance

North Korea highlighted the friendship between the two countries at a performance staged for Chinese President Xi Jinping, who visited Pyongyang for the first time in seven years, with singers performing "I Love China" (我愛你中國) and other songs celebrating bilateral ties.

According to CCTV, Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan attended the cultural performance Sunday night at the Pyongyang gymnasium alongside North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his wife.

When the two leaders and their spouses entered the venue at around 9 p.m. local time, the packed crowd rose to its feet, waving North Korean and Chinese flags and applauding as they shouted "welcome."

Footage from Xinhua showed North Korean singers performing "I Love China," a well-known Chinese patriotic song. Its lyrics include lines such as "I want to dedicate the most beautiful song to you, my mother, my homeland" and "I want to dedicate my beautiful youth to you, my mother, my homeland."

Singers also performed "My Beloved China," along with "Sing the Motherland," "Me and My Motherland," "Jasmine Flower" and "Happiness Does Not Fall from the Sky."

The performance closed with "Sino-Korean Friendship Will Last Forever," a song underscoring the bond between the two countries. Throughout the show, a large screen behind the stage displayed a continuous stream of positive imagery related to North Korea and China, including both nations' flags.

Xinhua said "familiar Chinese songs echoed through Pyongyang" and that the songs "stirred deep resonance among the entire audience."

CCTV said performers "warmly welcomed Xi's return visit to Pyongyang for the first time in seven years through song, dance and acrobatics," adding that they "expressed sincere feelings of hope to consolidate and develop the friendship and cooperation between the two countries."

KCNA said the performance "unfolded as a joyful artistic tableau the deep trust and genuine friendship our people hold for Comrade Xi Jinping and the fraternal Chinese people, beautifully adding another page to the history of Sino-Korean friendship and solidarity."