Samoan Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata'afa arrived in Beijing on Monday to continue her official visit to China which lasts from November 20 to 28.
Mata'afa was warmly welcomed by Assistant Foreign Minister Hong Lei upon her arrival at the Beijing International Airport.
During her stay in Beijing, Mata'afa will meet with Chinese leaders on bilateral ties and other issues of common interest.
Beijing is the last leg of Mata'afa's nine-day tour of China. This is her first official visit to China as prime minister of Samoa.
Mata'afa arrived in Shanghai on Nov 20. She has also traveled to Jiangsu Province in east China and Guangdong Province in the south.
She was elected the ninth prime minister of Samoa in July 2021.
Samoan PM arrives in Beijing to continue official visit to China
The 2024 Shanghai Tower Vertical Marathon, the world's tallest and largest vertical race, took place on Sunday, attracting more than 2,000 athletes from over 20 countries and regions.
The event was held in Shanghai Tower, China's tallest skyscraper. Participants in the full individual race had to climb 3,398 steps to reach the finish line at the 119th floor at a height of 552 meters.
Olympic cycling champion Zhong Tianshi led a group of front runners to start from the ground floor at 08:20, and then the individual full course runners set off in turn at 30-second intervals.
In the men's competition, Japan's Ryoji Watanabe emerged victorious, completing the climb in 18 minutes. The Women's Individual Championship was claimed by Croatia's Tea Faber, who conquered the stairs in 21 minutes and 26 seconds.
"[It's a] very very long race. The track is very long. I had to keep my mind calm to climb my way up," said Watanabe.
"This is my fourth time here, and I won two times. I like Shanghai," said Italian female mountain runner Valentina Belotti who took the second place in the race.
As a self-owned brand event created by Shanghai, the Shanghai Tower Vertical Marathon was founded in 2017 and is currently the top-level event with highest competition building in the world.
In order to motivate more Chinese runners and marathon enthusiasts to participate, the event also set up a special award for Chinese athletes and the shorter "fun race" for amateur runner, which took climbers to the 22nd floor.
"I kept climbing without a stop. It's really a self-challenge, giving me the strength to go higher," said Huang Jing, a participant.
Int'l elite vertical marathoners contest in China's tallest skyscraper
