BEIJING, Jan. 5 -- Costa Rican President Luis Guillermo Solis Rivera is on a state visit to China on Jan. 4-10 at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The following is a brief profile of Solis.

Solis, born in San Jose in 1958, had long been a teacher at colleges, including the University of Costa Rica. He had served in the Foreign Ministry as Central American affairs ambassador and director of the external policy department, among other posts.

Solis was elected Costa Rican president in April 2014 and took office in May.