Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit Hong Kong to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the former British colony’s return to China, state news agency Xinhua reported on Saturday.

Xi will also attend the inauguration of the next administration of this international financial hub, which will be the president’s first visit outside of mainland China since the start of the pandemic.

Xi’s last visit to the former British colony was in 2017, on the occasion of the inauguration of former executive director Carrie Lam.

New coronavirus outbreaks in both mainland China and Hong Kong have cast doubts on Xi’s trip to the former British colony, which has a less stringent health policy than Beijing.