China has sent a high-level envoy to North Korea in a bid to improve relations after US President Donald Trump urged Beijing to pressure Pyongyang to end its nuclear weapons programme.

Xi Jinping became China’s new leader today, assuming the top posts in the Communist Party and the powerful military in a political transition unbowed by scandals, a slower economy and public demands for reforms.

ABOUT 100 Beijing News reporters walked out in protest at this week’s dismissal of the top editor, the latest victim of China’s strict press controls, industry sources said yesterday.