Malawian President Bingu wa Mutharika arrived in Beijing on Monday afternoon, kicking off a weeklong state visit to China.

Mutharika is in Beijing at the invitation of Chinese President Hu Jintao.

Apart from Beijing, he will also visit Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province, Shenzhen in south China's Guangdong Province, and Shanghai.

(Xinhua News Agency March 24, 2008)