Chinese President Xi Jinping stopped in Greece on his way to Latin America on Sunday, the second Chinese high-level visit to the southern European country in a month.

Xi landed on the Greek island of Rhodes on a technical stop on his way to Brazil, where he will attend the BRICS summit.

Greece's President Karolos Papoulias and the country's Prime Minister Antonis Samaras came to the island to welcome Xi.

Xi is expected to attend a welcome banquet hosted by Papoulias on Sunday and he is set to hold talks with Samaras in the afternoon.

The Chinese president is scheduled to leave Rhodes for Brazil on Monday.