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BEIJING, March 2 (UPI) -- Prince William began an official visit to China on Monday, meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping and visiting with youth groups at the Forbidden City. The South China Morning Post reported the Duke of Cambridge's visit to the world's largest economy was a goodwill visit intended to bolster cultural exchange between young Chinese and British.
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China's Xinhua agency reported that William, 32, would be the first prominent British royal to visit China on an official visit since Queen Elizabeth II in 1986, when China was in an earlier stage of economic reform under Deng Xiaoping, China's leader.
William concluded a visit to Japan on Sunday, a tour that included visits with survivors of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Fukushima, reported the BBC and Japan's Kyodo news agency.
During a meeting with the Chinese president in the Great Hall of the People on Monday, the prince delivered a letter written by Queen Elizabeth to the Chinese president.
William was also taken on a personal tour of the Forbidden City in Beijing, the seat of the Chinese imperial government that maintained power until its ouster by a new government in 1911.
He then flew to Shanghai to launch a three-day festival that will promote British business innovation in China, and attend a wildlife conservation conference on Wednesday.
