PYONGYANG, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping left Beijing for Pyongyang Tuesday morning, kicking off an official good-will visit to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) aimed at boosting bilateral cooperation and the traditional friendship between the two nations.

　　The China-DPRK friendship has acquired new elements and improved steadily in the 21st century.

　　Established almost 60 years ago, the friendship was created andfostered by earlier generations in either country and has stood the test of time, being cherished as a great treasure by both sides.

　　Top leaders of the two nations have met often in recent years and agreed to develop bilateral ties on the principles of "carrying forward traditions, aiming at the future, being good-neighborly and friendly, and strengthening cooperation."

　　Chinese leaders Hu Jintao, Wu Bangguo and Li Changchun, as wellas former Chinese President Jiang Zemin, visited the DPRK over the past few years, while top DPRK leader Kim Jong Il has visited China four times since 2000.

　　These frequent visits have strengthened trust and understanding between the two peoples, and enlarged bilateral exchanges and cooperation in every field, providing impetus to the already warm mutual ties.

　　Cooperation in commerce and trade between the two countries has developed steadily in recent years. Bilateral trade amounted to 1.97 billion U.S. dollars in 2007, increasing 16.1 percent over the previous year, according to Chinese statistics.

　　Committed investments by Chinese companies in the DPRK reached 445 million dollars by May this year.

　　The deepening of commercial and trade ties has boosted the development of both countries and brought real benefits to the two peoples.

　　Exchange and cooperation in the fields of culture, sports, education, and technology have also intensified, with many programs carried out every year.

　　Moreover, Chinese TV series aired in the DPRK have created a sensation throughout the country.

　　Also, the "Flower Girl," one of the "Five DPRK Revolutionary Operas," conducted a performance tour of over 10 Chinese cities from April 15 to May 31.

　　"The unprecedented performance was extremely successful and will be a landmark in the traditional DPRK-China friendship," said Choe Chang Il, the head of the operatic delegation. "It will boost the exchange of culture and art between the two countries."

　　The Pyongyang leg of the Beijing Olympic torch relay was seen by the DPRK as a good chance to strengthen its traditional friendship with China.

　　Hundreds of thousands of dancing and singing Pyongyang residents lined the torch relay route, displaying firm support to the Olympics even as some anti-China forces attempted to disturb and politicize the games.

　　The DPRK accords top priority to China's concerns, top DPRK legislator Kim Yong Nam said during the torch relay in the capital. The Chinese people became newly aware of the great friendship borne by the Korean people during the Pyongyang torch relay.

　　A friend in need is a friend indeed. China has provided economic and humanitarian aid to the DPRK for years. Factories built by China have played an important role in the economy of the DPRK. On its part, the DPRK offered 100,000 U.S. dollars in aid to China after the powerful earthquake in southwestern China's Sichuan province on May 12.

　　"The people of the DPRK consider the distress suffered by the Chinese people to be their own," DPRK Foreign Minister Pak Ui Chun said. "It may not be a large amount of money, but it reflects the wish of our people to share the suffering of the victims of the disaster."

　　DPRK's leaders also expressed hope that their nation could effectively help people in the quake-stricken areas emerge from the aftermath of the quake and bring their lives to normal as soon as possible.

　　China and the DPRK share a supportive relationship on the international platform as well. China supports the peaceful reunification of the Korean peninsula and the DPRK supports the "one-China policy."

　　China and the DPRK have maintained fruitful cooperation in the six-party talks, which are aimed at denuclearizing the Korean peninsula, contributing to the peace and stability of the peninsula and of northeast Asia as a whole.