BEIJING -- President Xi Jinping on Monday started holding bilateral events with foreign leaders who will attend the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), scheduled for Sept 4 to 6 in Beijing.

At 10 am, Xi met with Felix Tshisekedi, president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, at the Great Hall of the People.

During the FOCAC summit, Xi will attend the opening ceremony and deliver a keynote speech on Sept 5. He will also host a welcome banquet for the leaders and representatives attending the summit.

Following the 2006 Beijing summit, the 2015 Johannesburg summit and the 2018 Beijing summit, the upcoming summit is another event gathering members of the friendly family of China and Africa. It is also the largest diplomatic event hosted by China in recent years, with the highest attendance of foreign leaders.