President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has met Chairman of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) and Member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the 20th Communist Party of China Central Committee Zhao Leji.

The meeting took place at the Great Hall of People in Beijing, China on Thursday, as part of the Maldivian First Couple’s ongoing state visit to China.

President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu and First Lady Sajidha Mohamed departed to the People’s Republic of China on a state visit on January 7.

The state visit is being conducted upon an official invitation from the President of China, Xi Jinping.

The first couple is accompanied by a high-level delegation of government officials during the visit.

Discussions at the meeting revolved around efforts to further enhance the relationship enjoyed between Maldives and China, as well as exploring new avenues for partnership and strengthening existing bilateral cooperation.

Muizzu noted that the island nation values its historical and friendly relations with China.

He shed light on the contributions the government of China has made to the development of the Maldives over the years.

The Maldivian leader went on to express confidence in continued cooperation between the two countries in the future.

Chairman Leji spoke on solidifying cooperation in culture, education, healthcare, and tourism.

Expressing interest to cooperate in sports, arts and crafts, he also expressed keen interest to work together in the multilateral arena in areas of mutual interest, such as climate change.

Further, he reaffirmed the Maldivian government, of the commitment of the government of China, to further solidify the close ties between the two countries.

Diplomatic relations were established between the Maldives and China in 1972.

The Maldivian First Couple is undertaking a visit to China at a time relations between India and Maldives have soured once again, over posts on social media platform ‘X’ by deputy ministers close to the president.