A Chinese expert suggests the recovery of economic ties between China and North Korea will likely be the top agenda of the upcoming summit between the two communist allies. 

According to the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong(SCMP) on Tuesday, Zheng Jiyong, director of the Korean Studies Center at Fudan University in Shanghai, made the prediction ahead of a first-ever Pyongyang summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. 

Zheng said bilateral economic and trade issues will be highlighted during the summit and the two leaders would discuss specific ways to adapt to “the new situation and times.”

The scholar added cooperation on personnel exchanges, including in the fields of education, culture and tourism, will also be up for discussion. 

The daily quoted South Korean diplomatic sources as saying the China-North Korea summit will be followed by delivery of humanitarian items from China to the North. 

President Xi is scheduled to visit the North this week for the first time since he came to power in 2012. State media in North Korea and China reported on Monday that Xi will be in Pyongyang for two days from Thursday.