Xi arrives in HK for 25th anniversary of handover

Hong Kong: Chinese leader Xi Jinping arrived in Hong Kong on Thursday ahead of the 25th anniversary of the British handover and after a two-year transformation bringing the city more tightly under Communist Party control.

It is Xi's first trip outside of mainland China in nearly 2 years.

Supporters waving Chinese and Hong Kong flags chanted Welcome, welcome! Warm welcome! as Xi's train pulled into the train station.

Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, were welcomed by city leader Carrie Lam as they alighted the train.

Xi waved at supporters who welcomed him on the platform, and later greeted John Lee, the city's incoming leader, and Leung Chun-ying, a former chief executive of the city, along with other officials.

I'm very happy to be in Hong Kong," Xi said in a speech at the Hong Kong West Kowloon train station. It's been five years since I last visited, and in the past five years I've been paying attention to and thinking about

Hong Kong."