Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in Sochi, Russia, Feb. 6, 2014. Xi will attend the opening ceremony of the 22nd Winter Olympic Games here, at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin. It will be the first attendance by a Chinese head of state at an opening ceremony of a major overseas sports event. (Xinhua/Lan Hongguang)

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Sochi yesterday to attend today's opening ceremony of the 22nd Winter Olympic Games.

It will be the first attendance by a Chinese head of state at the opening ceremony of a major overseas sports event.

Xi will visit China's Winter Olympics delegation and meet with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, leaders of other countries and heads of international organizations.

Russia, for the second time, is Xi's first foreign destination of the year. Last March, he made a state visit just over a week after taking office as president.

During his 3-day visit, Xi will hold talks with Putin on advancing bilateral ties in 2014.

China has sent a 139-member delegation, including 66 athletes, to Sochi.