On the morning of January 19, 2016, at the invitations of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia, President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi of the Arab Republic of Egypt and President Hassan Rouhani of the Islamic Republic of Iran, President Xi Jinping left Beijing by special plane to pay state visits to Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Iran.

Those who accompanied Xi Jinping included Member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and Director of the Policy Research Office of the CPC Central Committee Wang Huning, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, Member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee and Director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee Li Zhanshu and State Councilor Yang Jiechi.