Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, on Friday for a two-day visit, the first by a Chinese head of state to the country in 30 years.

Xi’s visit is expected to deepen strategic cooperation with Bangladesh, and step up regional connectivity under China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

China is currently Bangladesh’s largest trading partner, while Bangladesh is China’s third largest in South Asia. Two-way trade between China and Bangladesh reached 14.7 billion US dollars in 2015, an average annual increase of around 20 percent since 2000, noted Xi in a signed article published on Friday in leading Bangladeshi newspapers The Daily Star and Prothom Alo.

Bangladesh, in dire need of capital for development, takes an open attitude towards Chinese investors in sectors such as transportation, electricity, energy and telecommunications. Chinese investment in the country reached 56.8 million US dollars in 2015, said Bangladesh Bank. Bangladesh is also a founding member of the Chinese-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank that has approved 165 million US dollars in loans for a Bangladeshi project.

The two countries are eyeing more infrastructure construction under the Belt and Road initiative. Bangladesh is working closely with China to promote the construction of an economic corridor connecting Bangladesh, China, India and Myanmar.

China and Bangladesh have maintained a sound relationship since they established diplomatic ties in 1975, although the relationship actually started much earlier, when religious leader Atish Dipankar journeyed to China from Bengal on foot around 1,000 years ago. Cultural exchanges have also helped boost the friendship. In his newspaper article, Xi expressed China’s willingness to enhance exchanges with Bangladesh in areas including education, media, think tanks and tourism.

Xi is scheduled to meet with Bangladeshi President Abdul Hamid and National Assembly Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chowdhury during his trip. He will also hold talks with the country’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, with a series of bilateral deals expected to be signed.

Bangladesh is the second leg of Xi's three-nation Asian tour, which has already taken him to Cambodia. He will travel to the Indian state of Goa on Saturday to attend a BRICS summit, together with leaders from Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa.