President Xi and Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago Kamla Persad-Bissessar, left, attend the unveiling ceremony marking the start of the construction of a children's hospital by a Chinese company in the central city of Couva, Trinidad and Tobago, June 1, 2013. [Photo/Xinhua]

Later in the afternoon, Xi, accompanied by Kamla Persad-Bissessar, the , attended a ceremony marking the start of the construction of a children's hospital by a Chinese company in the central city of Couva.

Xi extended his warm greetings to the workers of the project from the two countries, and urged the Chinese side to guarantee the timely completion of the project with high quality and to make it a new symbol of the friendship between China and Trinidad and Tobago.

Also on Saturday, President Xi's wife Peng Liyuan, accompanied by First Lady Reema Carmona, visited a local facility caring for mentally disabled children.

Peng watched singing and dancing performances by the children and donated toys to them.

She said children, especially mentally disabled ones, need care and love, and called for more exchanges in charity between the two countries.

Earlier in the day, Xi held talks with Bissessar on expanding bilateral cooperation. Following the talks, the two countries signed a host of cooperation deals.

During the visit, Xi will also hold bilateral meetings with leaders of Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, the Bahamas, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Suriname and Jamaica, all of which are Caribbean countries with diplomatic ties with China.

From Port of Spain, the Chinese president will travel to Costa Rica and Mexico for state visits. He will then fly to the US state of California for a summit meeting with his US counterpart Barack Obama on June 7-8.

President Xi Jinping meets Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda Winston Baldwin Spencer, left, in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, June 1, 2013. [Photo/Xinhua]

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