The king, who ascended to the throne on Jan 31, is making his maiden state visit to China at the invitation of president Xi Jinping.

His special aircraft departed from the Subang air base at about 9.40am and arrived at the Beijing Capital International Airport at 3.30pm.

Accompanying the king on the visit were transport minister Loke Siew Fook, and housing and local government minister Nga Kor Ming.

The Tunku Temenggong of Johor, Tunku Idris Iskandar Sultan Ibrahim, who arrived at the same airport in a separate aircraft at about 3pm, is also accompanying the king on the visit.

Sultan Ibrahim was received at the airport by China’s vice-minister of foreign affairs Sun Weidong, China’s ambassador to Malaysia Ouyang Yujing, Malaysian foreign ministry secretary-general Amran Zain and Malaysia’s ambassador to China Norman Muhamad.

The king received the salute from a guard of honour mounted by the People’s Liberation Army.

During the visit, Sultan Ibrahim will be accorded a ceremonial welcome at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, followed by an audience with Xi and a state banquet hosted by the Chinese president.

The king will also grant an audience to Chinese premier Li Qiang and visit the Beijing Aircraft Technology Research Institute to observe the latest developments in China’s aviation technology.

Sultan Ibrahim is also scheduled to attend the naming ceremony of the chair of Malay studies at Beijing Foreign Studies University in his honour and engage with the Malaysian diaspora during the visit.

The visit coincides with the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Malaysia and China.

Earlier, during a press conference, Norman said the state visit was highly anticipated by China, being the first by a Malaysian king in 10 years.

This is the second state visit conducted by Sultan Ibrahim, with the first being a two-day visit to Singapore in May, at the invitation of president Tharman Shanmugaratnam.