Chinese President Xi Jinping announced that China will strengthen strategic communications and deepen cooperation with North Korea in a congratulatory message to D​PRK leader Kim Jong Un, North Korean state news agency KCNA reports.

In his letter, Xi stated that “successfully protecting, strengthening and developing relations between China and the D​PRK” remains the consistent and unchanging policy of the Chinese party and government, according to KCNA.

The Chinese leader referenced Kim’s September 3 visit to Beijing and participation in a military parade, noting they jointly “presented a plan for the development of relations between the two countries in the coming years.”

“The Chinese side is ready to join hands in promoting the friendship between China and the D​PRK and the socialist cause of the two countries through enhanced strategic communication, active exchanges and close cooperation with the D​PRK,” Xi stated in the message.

The September 3 military parade in Beijing marked the first public meeting between Xi Jinping, Kim Jong Un, and Russian President Vladimir Putin, KCNA reported.

The United States responded to the Beijing parade by announcing that President Trump had ordered the revival of the army due to the growing alignment between Russia and China. On September 5, Trump declared that the world had “lost India and Russia” through these countries’ rapprochement with China.