U.S. President Obama arrives in China for state visit

SHANGHAI, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama arrived in China's economic hub Shanghai on Sunday night, starting a state visit to China.

U.S. President Barack Obama's special plane arrives at Shanghai Pudong International Airport on Nov. 15, 2009. Barack Obama arrived in Shanghai on Sunday to begin his first state visit to China. (Xinhua/Pei Xin)

Air Force One touched down at the Shanghai Pudong International Airport in heavy rain at about 23:10.

This is Obama's first state visit to China since he assumed the presidency in January. He is also the first U.S. president who paid a state visit to China within one year in office.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the People's Republic of China and the United States.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Permanent Representative to the United Nations Susan Rice and National Security Advisor James Jones also arrived in Shanghai Sunday night.

President Obama will meet with local officials on Monday and have a dialogue with Chinese youth, during which he is supposed to answer questions from netizens via Xinhuanet, a news website of the Xinhua News Agency on Monday.