Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake will begin a state visit to Beijing from 14 to 17 January, the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced on Friday.

The visit is at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying was quoted as saying by the English edition of CGTN.

This is the Sri Lankan President’s second foreign visit since his election in September, having visited India in December, and the visit coincides with the 68th anniversary of the establishment of relations between Sri Lanka and China.