King Felipe VI Visits China on State Trip, 18 Years After Father

King Felipe VI of Spain received a warm reception from Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday in Beijing, marking the monarch’s first state visit to China since his father, King Juan Carlos I, abdicated the throne in 2014.

The former King Juan Carlos was the first Spanish monarch to visit China on a state trip, in 1978. His most recent visit was in 2007, when he met then-President Hu Jintao.

Felipe, 57, has visited China on several occasions, including for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics.

Xi Jinping, who had his own grand reception in Spain in 2018, referred to Felipe as a “good friend of the Chinese people” during their meeting. He added that a “relationship of trust has been forged” between Spain and China, marking the 20th anniversary of the establishment of high-level bilateral relations between the two nations this week.

The Spanish monarch and his wife, Queen Letizia, arrived in Beijing’s impressive Great Hall of the People in a limousine, where they were met by Xi Jinping, as well as Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Commerce Minister Wang Wentao.

According to data from the Spanish Royal Household, China is Spain’s largest trading partner in Asia and its fourth-largest globally.