North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has met top Chinese official Wang Huning and vowed stronger ties with Beijing.

The meeting follows Chinese President Xi Jinping‘s visit to North Korea in June, when the two countries agreed to deepen relations. Xi had not visited North Korea in seven years.

Wang has long been a chief ideological authority within the Chinese Communist Party. He is one of only seven members of the Politburo Standing Committee, China’s highest policymaking body. This means Wang’s visit may be intended to help operationalize the verbal agreements from Xi’s meeting last month. Specific details are unknown, but statements from the June summit show deepening ties in diplomacy, law enforcement, military affairs, and economic relations between the two states.

Wang’s visit suggests Beijing is seeking to strengthen its influence as Pyongyang deepens its strategic partnership with Russia. In recent years, Pyongyang has been sending arms and troops to help Moscow in Ukraine in exchange for military and technological assistance to North Korea.

Welcoming Wang, who, among other things, oversees Taiwan affairs for China’s Communist Party, Kim highlighted the importance of “vigorously developing the traditional friendly and cooperative relations” with neighboring countries.

China remains North Korea’s dominant economic partner, accounting for approximately 98 percent of the country’s official imports and exports.