Chinese President Xi Jinping and first lady Peng Liyuan have held a dinner to honour President Abdulla Yameen and first lady Fathimath Ibrahim.

President Yameen and his wife are in Beijing on invitation from President Jinping, and the two have reportedly been in talks on cooperation in various fields between countries.

Yameen had on Thursday ratified a heavily protested and criticized free trade between Maldives and China.

READ MORE: China, Maldives signs controversy riddled Free Trade Agreement

Those critical of the agreement had said that would allow powerful Chinese company power in local markets and could therefore be detrimental smaller businesses.

The opposition has called it a move to ‘sell off’ the country and condemned the conditions under which it was passed.

READ MORE: Opposition says approval for FTA with China was attained dishonestly