Chinese President Hu Jintao arrived here on Saturday morning, beginning his first state visit to Saudi Arabia at the invitation of Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz.

During his three-day visit here, President Hu will hold talks with King Abdullah and meet with other Saudi leaders to exchange views on bilateral relations and international and regional issues of common concern. They will also discuss ways to strengthen the friendly cooperation between China and Saudi Arabia.

In his written statement delivered upon arrival at the airport in Riyadh, President Hu said Sino-Saudi relations have progressed steadily since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1990, and the Chinese side is satisfied with the fruitful results of bilateral cooperation in such fields as politics, economy, trade, and culture.

He said China attaches great importance to the relationship with Saudi Arabia and will work with the Saudi side to continuously push forward the development of bilateral friendship and cooperation.

President Hu added he is convinced that his visit will further promote the friendship between the two countries and the two peoples, as well as the development of bilateral friendship and strategic cooperation.

Saudi Arabia is now China's largest trading partner in West Asia and North Africa. In 2005, trade volume between the two countries exceeded 16 billion U.S. dollars, an increase of 56 percent as compared with the previous year.

In January, King Abdullah paid a successful visit to China, during which the two countries signed a number of cooperation documents.

President Hu flew here from the U.S. state of Connecticut after a state visit to the United States. Saudi Arabia is the second leg of his five-nation tour, which will also take him to Morocco, Nigeria and Kenya.

Chronology: Exchange of high-level visits between Chinese, Saudi leaders

Chinese President Hu Jintao arrived in Saudi Arabia on Saturday for a three-day state visit, the second leg of his five-nation tour, which has already brought him to the United States and will also take him to Morocco, Nigeria and Kenya.

The following is a chronology of the exchange of high-level visits between Chinese and Saudi leaders since the two nations established diplomatic relationship in 1990:

On July 9-11, 1991 -- Chinese Premier Li Peng paid an official goodwill visit to Saudi Arabia, the first visit by a Chinese leader to the kingdom.The two sides reached broad consensus on many international and regional issues of common concern, such as the peace process in the Middle East.

On October 14-21, 1998 -- Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz (now the Saudi King) paid an official visit to China, during which he held talks with Chinese President Jiang Zemin and Premier Zhu Rongji. The two governments signed a memorandum of understanding on setting up a joint committee for economic and trade cooperation.

From October 31 to November 3, 1999 -- Chinese President Jiang Zemin paid a state visit to Saudi Arabia, during which the two sides signed several agreements on cooperation in the fields of broadcasting and television, exchange of news information between Chinese and Saudi news agencies, education, and oil production.

On January 22-24, 2006 -- Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz paid a state visit to China, during which the two sides signed a protocol on bilateral cooperation concerning petroleum, natural gas and minerals, as well as several documents with regard to investment, economic and trade cooperation, and technical support.