Spain's King Felipe makes China state visit, 18 years after father

Spanish King Felipe VI got a royal welcome from Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Wednesday in Beijing, the monarch's first state visit to the country since his father abdicated the throne in 2014.

Felipe and his wife Queen Letizia arrived in a limousine to the capital's stately Great Hall of the People where they met Xi, accompanied by Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi and commerce minister Wang Wentao. Xi called Felipe a "good friend of the Chinese people".

The monarch adds that a "relationship of trust has been forged" between the two countries, which this week reach their 20th anniversary of establishing high-level bilateral ties. China is Spain's largest trading partner in Asia and its fourth largest globally, according to data from the Spanish Royal Household.