BEIJING (CNN) -- China welcomes Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir for the start of a four-day visit Monday.

Prior to his trip, the Sudanese leader gave an interview with China's state-run news agency, Xinhua, in which he touted the longstanding ties between the two nations.
""We regard China as the strategic partner for Sudan in various fields, including the political, economic, commercial and cultural,"" al-Bashir said in the interview, published Sunday by Xinhua. ""China does not interfere in the internal affairs of others. The success of the Sino-Sudanese cooperation has pushed the African countries to search for the real and loyal partner.""
Al-Bashir, who became Sudan's president in 1993, will be in China through Thursday at the invitation of its president Hu Jintao, according to Xinhua.
This will be his fourth visit to the Asian nation, after trips there in 1990, 1995 and 2006, when he attended a Sino-Africa Cooperation Forum summit in Beijing.