BEIJING, July 20 (Xinhua) -- Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan of Abu Dhabi will pay a state visit to China from Sunday to Tuesday at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Born in 1961, Sheikh Mohammed is the third son of late first President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, and is a younger brother of incumbent UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Sheikh Mohammed was graduated from Britain's Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS). He was appointed chief of the general staff of the UAE Armed Forces in January 1993.
In November 2004, Sheikh Mohammed was proclaimed Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi. In December, he became the head of Abu Dhabi Executive Council or the government of Emirate of Abu Dhabi.
In January 2005, he became deputy supreme commander of the UAE Armed Forces.
The crown prince is friendly toward China and attaches great importance to developing relations with China. In May 1990, he accompanied President Sheikh Zayed on the latter's visit to China. He also visited China three more times -- in August 2009, March 2012 and December 2015.
