Xi holds welcome ceremony for Uruguayan president in Beijing

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday held a welcome ceremony for President of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay Yamandu Orsi, who is on a state visit to China.

A 21-gun salute was fired at the Tian'anmen Square to welcome Orsi.

A military band performed the national anthems of the two countries at the welcome ceremony.

Orsi, accompanied by Xi, reviewed the Guard of Honor of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, and the two heads of state then returned to the reviewing stand to watch the march-past by the Guard of Honor.

Orsi's entourage includes Foreign Minister Mario Lubetkin, Minister of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries Alfredo Fratti, and Minister of Industry, Energy and Mining Fernanda Cardona, among others.

Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, and other Chinese officials also attended the welcome ceremony.

At the invitation of President Xi, Orsi arrived in Beijing on Sunday for a seven-day state visit to China.

This is Orsi's first state visit to China.

Chinese stocks closed higher on Tuesday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index up 1.29 percent to 4,067.74 points.

The Shenzhen Component Index closed 2.19 percent higher at 14,127.11 points.

The ChiNext Index, tracking China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, rose 1.86 percent to close at 3,324.89 points.

The ChiNext Index, together with the Shenzhen Component Index and other indices, reflects the performance of stocks listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.