President Michael D Higgins will travel to China today to begin a state visit there by invitation of President Xi Jinping.

President Higgins will visit Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou in the company of his wife, Sabina, and the Foreign Affairs Minister Charlie Flanagan.

Both president Higgins and Xi Jinping will witness the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between NUIG and Tsinghua University during the visit.

During the course of the week, Mr Higgins will also address an event hosted by Tourism Ireland for members of the Chinese media and tourism industry.

President Higgins (right) with President Xi Jinping (left) | Image: Aras an Uachtarain

The president will also meet and address members of the Irish community at the Irish embassy in Beijing.

He will also deliver a keynote address at the Fudan University in Shanghai, and addresss a business breakfast hosted by the IDA and Enterprise Ireland in Beijing.

The president will then go on to visit the former residence of Sun Yat Sen, the first president and founding father of the Republic of China. Irish writer George Bernard Shaw visited the residence in 1933.

The president will also travel by bullet train from Shanghai to Hangzhou. He will then visit one of China's leading international companies, Alibaba, where he will have a meeting with its founder and executive chairman, Jack Ma.

Mr Higgins will return to Ireland on December 15th.