South Korean President Lee Myung-bak (L) shakes hands with officials after arriving at Beijing airport January 9, 2012. [Photo/Agencies]

BEIJING - At the invitation of Chinese President Hu Jintao, President of the Republic of Korea (ROK) Lee Myung-bak arrived in Beijing Monday, starting his three-day state visit to China.

During his visit, Lee is scheduled to hold talks with Hu and meet with top legislator Wu Bangguo and Premier Wen Jiabao. The two sides will exchange views on China-ROK relations as well as global and regional issues of common concern, respectively.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of China-ROK diplomatic ties as well as a year of bilateral friendly exchanges.

"China attaches great importance to President Lee Myung-bak's visit, and hopes his visit will further strengthen political trust, exchanges and cooperation between both countries, as well as further bilateral strategic cooperative partnership," Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hong Lei said.

This is Lee's second state visit to China since he took office in February 2008.