Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit Hong Kong to mark the 25th anniversary of the return of Hong Kong sovereignty, state news agency Xinhua reported.



President Xi will attend the 25th anniversary of the return of Hong Kong to be held on the 1st of next month and the launch of the 6th government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.



Xi's visit to Hong Kong is the first since massive anti-government protests in Hong Kong in 2019.



While he emphasizes his sovereignty over Hong Kong, Xi is likely to send a message about Taiwan reunification.



With this trip to Hong Kong, Xi will be visiting outside mainland China for the first time in two years and six months since January 2020, when the COVID-19 outbreak spread in earnest.



In the past, President Xi visited Hong Kong with a delegation several times while working in Fujian and Zhejiang. He stayed in Hong Kong for 49 hours and attended 20 events in 2017 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the return of Hong Kong sovereignty.