President Xi Jinping arrived in Monaco on Sunday for a state visit, the first by a Chinese president to the city-state in Western Europe.

Though the two countries are far apart geographically and differ in their national conditions, they have seen their relations gain momentum, thanks to the close connections of Prince Albert II, head of state of the Principality of Monaco, with China.

Since his first trip to the country in 1993, the monarch has made 10 visits to China in different capacities, ranging from a member of the International Olympic Committee to crown prince to head of state.

He most recently visited China in September, when Xi received him at the Great Hall of the People.

He didn't expect Xi would visit his country so quickly when he extended an invitation to the Chinese president during the September visit, Prince Albert II said in an interview with Xinhua News Agency ahead of Xi's arrival, adding that Xi's visit is highly important to Monaco.

During that visit, the prince also visited a bee farm and a Siberian tiger breeding center in Northeast China's Jilin province.

Since 2011, the Prince Albert of Monaco Foundation has supported the World Wildlife Fund in driving Tx2 - the global goal to double the number of tigers in the wild.

The foundation's philanthropic efforts help protect the critically endangered Siberian tiger and support the monitoring of the wild Siberian tiger as well as leopards, the strengthening of anti-poaching efforts and the improvement of community livelihoods in China.

The prince told Xi that he witnessed the progress in China's economic, cultural and social development on each visit to the country and was particularly impressed by the achievements in ecological and environmental conservation.

As part of cultural exchanges between the two countries, he brought an exhibition on Monegasque history to Beijing. The exhibition was held in the Palace Museum, also known as the Forbidden City.

Prince Albert, who ascended the throne in July 2005, made his first state visit to China in April 2007.

As an enthusiastic sportsman, the prince has been a member of the International Olympic Committee since 1985 and president of the Monaco National Olympic Committee since 1994.

When Beijing hosted the Olympic Games in 2008, he was among the distinguished guests from around the world who attended the opening ceremony.

Six years later, he came to China to attend the opening ceremony of the second Summer Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, Jiangsu province.

During that trip, he met with Xi and both sides expressed the wish to deepen mutual political trust, promote cooperation in various areas and continue to support each other on multilateral occasions.

Xi has invited him to attend the 2022 Winter Olympics, which will be held in Beijing and Zhangjiakou, Hebei province.