Sudanese President Omer Hassan Ahmed El-Bashir arrived in Beijing today for the Beijing Summit of the Forum on the China-Africa Cooperation.

A total of 48 African countries having diplomatic relations with China will send delegations to the two-day summit, which is scheduled to open on Nov. 4.

China and Sudan forged diplomatic relations on Feb. 4, 1959. Chinese President Hu Jintao met with El-Bashir in 2005, on the sidelines of Asia-Africa Summit. Bilateral trade topped 3.9 billion U.S. dollars in 2005.