Profile: Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki

BEIJING, May 13 (Xinhua) -- At the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, President Isaias Afwerki of the State of Eritrea will start paying a state visit to China on Sunday.

Afwerki, 77, has served as the president of Eritrea since 1993. He has visited China many times. His most recent trip was in 2006 to attend the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation.