Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday received the presidents of Zimbabwe and the Republic of Congo in Beijing, a day after China staged a military parade marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, state media reported.

Congo’s President Denis Sassou Nguesso and his Zimbabwean counterpart Emmerson Mnangagwa had traveled to Beijing to attend the parade.

Other foreign leaders hosted were Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel, Laotian President Thongloun Sisoulith, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, Vietnamese President Luong Cuong, and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, according to Xinhua News Agency.

The two African leaders had earlier on Wednesday held separate bilateral meetings with Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko in Beijing, according to the Belarusian presidency.

President Mnangagwa thanked Lukashenko for contributing to regional food security and renewed an invitation for him to visit Zimbabwe.