Al Jazeera took a look at Chinese netizens’ reactions to Premier Wen Jiabao’s visit to North Korea:
The visit by Wen Jiabao, the Chinese premier, to North Korea has generated hundreds of comments from Chinese web users in online forums – many supportive of deeper ties, but many also highly critical.
China is North Korea’s closest ally and the billions of dollars in energy and other aid that it supplies to the secretive state are crucial to propping up the isolated country’s impoverished economy.
Wen’s visit is officially intended to mark the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between North Korea and China, and several users backed the official party line.
In a post on the popular Tianya forum, user wantieee said Chinese should help North Korea, adding “they are friends… our socialist companion”.
That sentiment was backed up by zhangjizheng, who wrote on Sina.com: “Long live the friendship between China and North Korea”.
In a similar spirit, another user, shde, wrote: “It must be a huge encouragement for North Korea that, when the whole world is isolating them, our premier is there to give them hope.”
