Xi arrives in Monaco to update friendly exchanges

President Xi Jinping and his wife, Peng Liyuan, meet Monaco's Prince Albert II and his wife, Princess Charlene, at Monaco Palace, Monaco, on Sunday. [Photo/Agencies]

President Xi Jinping arrived in Monaco on Sunday for a state visit, the first one paid by a Chinese president to the European city state.

Though the two countries are far apart geographically, and differ in their national conditions, relations between the two countries have been gaining momentum thanks to the close connections of Prince Albert II — the reigning monarch of the Principality of Monaco — with China.

Since his first trip to the country in 1993, the prince has paid 10 visits to China in different capacities, ranging from a member of the International Olympic Committee, as well as crown prince and head of state.

His last China visit took place in September, when Xi rolled out the red carpet for his arrival at the Great Hall of the People.

The prince extended an invitation to Xi during the September visit, and the Monaco monarch said in an interview with Xinhua News Agency ahead of Xi's arrival that Xi's visit is highly important to Monaco.

During last year's visit, the principality's reigning monarch also visited a bee farm and a Siberian tiger breeding center in Jilin province.

Since 2011, the Prince Albert of Monaco Foundation has been supporting the World Wildlife Fund in driving Tx2 — the global goal to double the number of tigers in the wild.

The foundation's philanthropic efforts go toward protecting the critically endangered Siberian tigers, and support their monitoring along with leopards by strengthening anti-poaching efforts and improving community livelihoods in China where the big cats are found.

The prince told Xi that he witnessed progress in China's economic, cultural and social development on each visit to the country, and he was particularly impressed by the achievements in ecological and environmental conservation.

As part of cultural exchanges between the two countries, he brought an exhibition on the history of Monegasque — a Gallo-Italic language spoken in Monaco — to Beijing. The exhibition was held in the Palace Museum, or the Forbidden City, in the Chinese capital.

Prince Albert paid his first state visit to China in April 2007 after he ascended the throne in July 2005.

As an enthusiastic sportsman, the prince has been a member of the International Olympic Committee since 1985 and the president of the Monaco National Olympic Committee since 1994.

So when Beijing hosted the Olympic Games in 2008, he was among the distinguished guests from across the world who attended the opening ceremony.

Six years later, he came back to China to attend the opening ceremony of the second Summer Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, Jiangsu province.

During that trip, the prince met Xi and both sides expressed the wish to deepen political mutual trust and promote cooperation in various areas.

Xi has invited the prince to attend the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.