Xi arrives in Paris for climate change summit

Chinese President Xi Jinping, accompanied by his wife Peng Liyuan, arrives in Paris, capital of France, to attend the opening ceremony of an international conference on climate change on November 29, 2015. HUANG JINGWEN / XINHUA

PARIS -- President Xi Jinping arrived in Paris on Sunday to attend the opening ceremony of an international conference on climate change.

Xi, accompanied by his wife Peng Liyuan and other senior officials, arrived in the French capital as guest of French President Francois Hollande and Laurent Fabius, France's foreign minister and chair of the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties (COP21) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The Chinese president will deliver a speech at the conference on Monday, raising China's proposals on countering climate change before leaving for state visits to Zimbabwe and South Africa and a summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Johannesburg.

During his two-day stay in Paris, Xi is also expected to meet other heads of state including Hollande and U.S. President Barack Obama on the sidelines of the conference, discussing the climate issue and bilateral relations.

It will be the first time for China's top leader to be present at the UN climate change conference.