French President Nicolas Sarkozy arrives in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi province, Wednesday morning, starting his three-day state visit to China.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy (L) and his wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy (R) arrive at Xi'an, the capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, on April 28, 2010, kicking off a three-day state visit to China. [Xinhua]

Sarkozy will leave Xi'an for Beijing Wednesday afternoon. He will also visit Shanghai and attend the opening ceremony of the Shanghai World Expo scheduled for April 30.

During his stay in China, Chinese President Hu Jintao, top legislator Wu Bangguo and Premier Wen Jiabao will meet or hold talks with Sarkozy. Leaders of the two countries will exchange views on further improving China-France all-round strategic partnership as well as international and regional issues of mutual concern, according to Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Jiang Yu.