Above: Antigua Prime Minister Gaston Browne

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne arrived in China Monday for an official visit to the country.

In a statement, the government said Browne would be in the country for five days, with a meeting with China Premier Li Keqiang on the agenda.

The government said the two ides would “discuss several weighty matters, including exploring ways to strengthen the relations between the two,” along with security, climate change and global terrorism.

That meeting will be followed by talks with China President Xi Jinping.

Following the China visit, Browne is slated to travel to New York to “meet with several investors,” among others.

“This will be a very important trip that will cement the relations between our two states, and allow me to enhance the standing of our country,” Browne said.

Shortly after taking office in June, Browne’s government signed a more than $740 million deal with a Chinese investor for a major tourism project in Antigua.