Oman's sultan to visit China

Oman's Sultan Haitham bin Tarik Al Said will pay a two-day state visit to China starting Sunday, Beijing announced Friday.

The Nov. 1-2 visit comes at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, China's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The trip comes as the US and Iran remain locked in a conflict that began in February, when Washington and Israel launched a war against Tehran.

China and Oman established diplomatic relations in May, 1978 and have since expanded economic and trade cooperation, with Beijing becoming the Gulf nation's largest trading partner.

Oman is also China's fifth-largest supplier of crude oil and its fourth-largest trading partner among Arab countries.

Bilateral trade reached $36.73 billion in 2024.

Austrian chancellor to visit China

Separately, China's Foreign Ministry announced that Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker would pay an official visit from Nov. 2-7.

China and Austria established diplomatic relations in May 1971, marking 55 years of ties this year.

Bilateral trade has grown more than 400-fold over the past five decades, reaching $12.5 billion in 2025, with China becoming Austria's third-largest trading partner.