Who accompanies president on foreign visits, how are they selected?

President Xi Jinping arrived in Sri Lanka on Tuesday for a two-day state visit at the invitation of Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa.[Photo/ Xinhua]

3. Minister-level officials

Wangyi, minister of Foreign Affairs; Xu Shaoshi, head of the National Development and Reform Commission; Gao Hucheng, the commerce minister are among the regular list of minister-level officials who go with the president.

Lu Peixin said the principals of other relevant departments also go with President Xi as a general rule.

President Xi will cover multiple topics during his visit, for example, environmental protection and network security. As a result, principals of relevant departments of environment and information security may accompany him.

"The list is decided by not only the relation between the two countries, but also the business contacts, as well as the main issues that will be addressed during the visit," Lu said.

4. Other officials

Taking the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as an example, Lu Peixin said the North America and Oceania Department, Protocol Department and Information Department will send officials led by the directors respectively.

Along with them, the officials of departments dealing with the America affairs, for example, North America and Oceania Department of Ministry of Commerce, will be there.

Besides, the secretaries and security personnel of the leaders, as well as a few journalists will be included.

According to Lu, over 20 crew members, including the captain, machinists, aviators, duty operators, attendants, are also in the entourage.

Since most of the foreign trips are long-range flight, "the entire flight crew is divided into two groups and on duty alternatively," he said.