Chinese president’s visit to be a government holiday

A statement from the Casa Presidencial on Monday declared June 3 a public holiday in honor of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s trip to Costa Rica. The president will be in the country from June 2-4.

The daily La Nación reported that the day off has been declared “in the public interest” for Xi’s visit and will also aid in the transportation and security for the president. The statement also reaffirmed that the Costa Rican government will treat the visit no differently that that of U.S. President Barack Obama’s trip in early May.  

The Chinese leader will meet with Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla to discuss the future of Chinese investment in infrastructure, education and energy in Costa Rica. As the only Central American country with diplomatic ties to China, Costa Rica has seen significant donations and aid from the Asian country in the past several years, including an $80 million donation for construction of the National Stadium in western San José and a $1 million donation for an arch over the capital’s new Chinatown.

During his trip to Latin America Xi also will visit Mexico and Venezuela.