President Xi Jinping's visit will also receive a warm welcome from the British Monarchy. Queen Elizabeth II, who has met with some of the most famous leaders in recent history, is expected to greet Xi at Buckingham Palace.
The State Opening of Parliament is a time of year when Britain's Queen Elizabeth is revealed in her full regal pomp, stamping a majestic authority on her government's parliamentary plans.
It is, in essence, acting out of curious contradiction at the heart of British political life; a hereditary institution sitting atop a democratic system of government.
Although apparently entrenching elitism and privilege, most in Britain have a love of the continuity offered by royalty and the queen in particular.
Since her coronation in 1952, Britain’s monarch has seen out 12 UK prime ministers and met with some of the most famous leaders from history, including in this rare footage China's Deng Xiao Ping.
It is 10 years since China's former President Hu Jintao made a state visit to Britain, and the arrival of Xi is regarded as a barometer of Sino-UK relations at their warmest in decades.
Queen Elizabeth meets China's president shortly after she became the longest serving Monarch in British history, taking the title aged 89 years from her great great grandmother Queen Victoria.
China's president will be greeted by the British monarch, indulging, among other formal events, in a banquet with the queen.
It will be an opportunity for him to see first hand the workings of an ancient institution that while apparently a 21st century paradox, remains much loved locally and admired by governments around the world.