Indian president to visit China

BEIJING -- Invited by Chinese President Xi Jinping, Indian President Pranab Mukherjee will pay a state visit to China from May 24 to 27.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang made the announcement on Wednesday.

Later in the day, another spokesman Hong Lei told a routine press briefing that during the visit, Chinese leaders will hold talks and meetings with Mukherjee to make in-depth exchange of views on bilateral ties and issues of shared interest.

It will be Mukherjee's first state visit to China since he took office in 2012, Hong said, adding it is one of the most important high-level interactions between the neighboring countries this year.

Besides Beijing, the Indian president will also visit south China's metropolis Guangzhou.

The China-India relationship has maintained a good momentum of healthy and stable development in recent years, Hong said, noting the ties entered a new era of rapid growth since President Xi visited India in 2014 and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited China in 2015.