KATHMANDU, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived here on Saturday for a state visit to Nepal. It is the first visit by a Chinese president to the South Asian country in 23 years.

In a signed article published Friday on Nepali newspapers, Xi said "since China and Nepal established diplomatic relations in 1955, our two countries have respected each other and trusted and supported each other, setting an example of equality, friendship, and mutually beneficial cooperation between neighboring countries."

Nepal is China's important trade and development partner in South Asia, with two-way trade reaching 1.1 billion U.S. dollars and Chinese investments in Nepal exceeding 300 million dollars last year. Nepal has also been an active participant in the Belt and Road cooperation.

Nepal is the second leg of Xi's two-country trip to South Asia, which also took him to the southern Indian city of Chennai for the second informal meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.