S. Korean President visits China

South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak has arrived in Beijing for a state visit to which China attaches great importance as this year is the twentieth anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Lee Myung-Bak arrived in Beijing at the invitation of Chinese President Hu Jintao.

He later attended a welcoming ceremony at the Great Hall of People.

During Lee's three-day visit, President Hu Jintao, China's top legislator Wu Bangguo and Premier Wen Jiabao will meet with him. They will exchange views on Sino-South Korean relations, as well as global and regional issues.

This is the first major meeting between the leaders of the two countries since the death of the former DPRK leader Kim Jong-il, so security on the Korean peninsula is also expected to be a focus of the trip.

Economic cooperation between China and South Korea is also expected to be a major topic. Many hope Lee's visit will help the two countries get closer to reach the free trade agreement.

Trade volume between China and South Korea stood at 5 billion US dollars in l992 when the two countries established diplomatic ties and in 2010 the number exceeded 200 billion US dollars. China is currently South Korea’s largest trading partner and South Korea is China's third largest.