King of Malaysia arrives in Beijing for state visit

Malaysia's King Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar arrived in Beijing on Thursday for a four-day state visit to China at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, this is Sultan Ibrahim's first visit to a non-ASEAN country since assuming office as the head of state in January 2024. President Xi will hold a welcome ceremony and a banquet for him. The two heads of state will hold talks and Chinese Premier Li Qiang will meet with King Sultan Ibrahim.

China and Malaysia have a long-standing traditional friendship and are good neighbors and partners in mutual assistance and win-win cooperation, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said at Wednesday's press briefing.

In March last year, President Xi reached an important consensus with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on building a China-Malaysia community with a shared future, which has provided direction for the development of China-Malaysia relations in the new era, Lin said.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Malaysia and the Year of China-Malaysia Friendship.

China has been Malaysia's largest trading partner for 15 consecutive years and is also one of the major sources of foreign investment for Malaysia.

A courageous wild giant panda was spotted heroically striving to traverse river rapids at the Dajiangou scenic area in northwest China's Shaanxi Province on Tuesday.

The footage, captured by a tourist, shows a chubby body with black and white fur clinging to a boulder mid-river, apparently struggling to maintain its grip. After plunging into the water, the plump creature managed to take hold of a lower rock before waddling its way back up, eventually reaching the shore successfully.

According to the staff at the scenic area, this is not the first time that humans have encountered wild giant pandas in the area. Up to four giant pandas have been observed simultaneously.

The Dajiangou scenic area belongs to the Shaanxi Huangbaiyuan National Nature Reserve.