Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday arrived in Phnom Penh for a state visit to Cambodia, at the invitation of King Norodom Sihamoni of Cambodia.
This marks Xi's second visit to Cambodia in nine years.
During his stay, Xi is scheduled to meet King Norodom Sihamoni and Queen Mother Norodom Monineath Sihanouk respectively, meet with President of the Cambodian People's Party and President of the Senate Samdech Techo Hun Sen, and hold talks with Prime Minister Hun Manet, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The two sides will have discussions on the elevation and new characterization of the bilateral relations and have an in-depth exchange of views on five areas of political mutual trust, mutually beneficial cooperation, security, cultural and people-to-people exchanges and strategic coordination.
Cambodia is the third and last leg of Xi's five-day Southeast Asian tour, which began with a state visit to Vietnam on Monday and Tuesday, followed by a state visit to Malaysia from Tuesday to Thursday.
Xi arrives in Cambodia for state visit
Xi arrives in Cambodia for state visit
A newly revamped international transit zone in Haikou Meilan International Airport in south China's Hainan Province will officially begin service on Thursday, the first day of China's five-day May Day Holiday, to provide a more convenient and efficient service to tourists.
Trial operations of the international transit zone began on Monday.
A passenger plane carrying over 180 passengers departed from Melbourne, Australia and landed at Haikou Meilan International Airport in the early hours of Tuesday. Many of the passengers transferred to other destinations via the newly upgraded international transit zone.
Airport staff guided the passengers holding Chinese and international passports through separate channels in the transit area.
Thanks to a smart pre-screening system, travelers can pass swiftly through customs and security checks in the transit zone, and they do not have to reclaim checked luggage or undergo additional security screening.
The newly upgraded zone has significantly improved the passenger experience. Walking distances for transit passengers have been reduced by nearly 50 percent, and the customs inspection and waiting areas have been expanded by over 50 percent. The zone's capacity to handle passengers during peak hour has increased from 44 passengers per hour to 200.
"To Guangzhou, not even 5 minutes. Very fast, and very nice people," said one transiting passenger.
Chinese airport upgrades international transfer area for smoother service
