AlQa'dah 20, 1435, September 15, 2014, SPA -- China and the Maldives signed nine agreements ranging from tourism to trade during a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday, officials said, according to dpa. Xi was welcomed in the capital Male by some 4,000 school students and a 21-gun salute by the military before meeting at the office of Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen. The deals included the establishment a joint committee on trade and economic cooperation, a spokesman for Yameen's office said. Other agreements covered marine cooperation, the safety of Chinese tourists, tourism infrastructure development projects, a power station project, development of the international airport and the construction of a bridge linking Male to nearby Hulhule island. Xi also took part in a launch ceremony of the construction of the bridge.
