Chinese President Xi Jinping holds a welcoming ceremony for President of the Republic of the Congo Denis Sassou Nguesso, who is in Beijing for the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) and a state visit, in the Northern Hall of the Great Hall of the People prior to their talks in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 6, 2024. Xi held talks with Sassou at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Friday. (Xinhua/Yao Dawei)