Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney arrived in Beijing on Wednesday for a four-day state visit.

Carney, who is expected to meet President Xi Jinping for talks on Friday, is the first Canadian leader to visit China in eight years.

Aside from Xi, Carney will also meet with Premier Li Qiang and business leaders for trade negotiations.

Beijing had said that it "attaches high importance" to the visit.

"China looks forward to taking this visit as an opportunity to enhance dialogue and communication, increase political mutual trust, expand practical cooperation, properly manage differences, address each other's concerns and consolidate the momentum of improvement in China-Canada relations to bring greater benefit for the two peoples," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning earlier said. (Xinhua/AFP)