Beijing, Jumada I 11, 1436, March 02, 2015, SPA -- Chinese President Xi Jinping met Britain's Prince William in Beijing Monday at the beginning of the first official China visit by a British royal in a generation, dpa reported. The duke of Cambridge, who arrived in the capital late Sunday after a four-day trip to Japan, handed Xi an invitation from his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, for a visit to England later this year, state radio reported. During the meeting at the Great Hall of the People, the seat of the Chinese parliament, Xi described his country's relationship with Britain as "very good" and said that a "comprehensive strategic partnership" between the two countries was developing very quickly, according to the radio report. William is the first senior British royal to visit China since Queen Elizabeth in 1986. --SPA 10:52 LOCAL TIME 07:52 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w