U.S. President Donald Trump (R) arrives in Beijing on Nov. 8, 2017, starting his state visit to China. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei)

BEIJING, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump arrived in Beijing Wednesday afternoon, beginning his three-day state visit to China.

It is Trump's first visit to the country since he assumed the presidency in January. He is the first head of state to visit China since the landmark 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.

During his stay in Beijing, Trump will hold talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and meet with other Chinese leaders.

Xi and Trump will hold strategic communications on significant issues of common concern to build new consensus, enhance mutual understanding and friendship, and promote bilateral relations in all spheres, according to Vice Foreign Minister Zheng Zeguang.

Apart from formal activities commensurate with a state visit, "informal interactions" will be arranged for the presidents of the two countries, Zheng said.

This is the third meeting between Xi and Trump following their first meeting at Mar-a-Lago, Florida in April and the second in Hamburg, Germany on the sidelines of the G20 summit in July.

This year marks the 45th anniversary of former U.S. President Richard Nixon's "ice-breaking" visit to China, which began the normalization of relations between the two countries.