The relations between China and the Arab League as an organization officially started in 1956, yet it was in 1993 when the Arab League opened its first office in China, when then-Secretary-General Asmat Abdel-Meguid went to an official visit to Beijing.[63] In 1996, the Chinese president Jiang Zemin gave an interview to Abdel-Meguid during his visit to Egypt, and became the first Chinese leader to officially visit the Arab League.[63]