China Xi Offers Condolences for 'Friend' Sihanouk

China's Vice President Xi Jinping expressed sadness at the death of former Cambodian king Norodom Sihanouk in Beijing Monday, paying tribute to an "old friend of the Chinese people", the foreign ministry said.

"I was shocked to learn that His Majesty King Sihanouk died of an illness in Beijing early this morning", Xi told Sihanouk's wife Queen Monique in Beijing, according to a statement posted on the ministry's website.

"We are deeply shocked and grief-stricken," Xi said, adding that he expressed "deep condolences and sincere sympathy," to the Cambodian people on behalf of China's government and people, the statement said.

Xi stood in silence before a portrait of the deceased monarch, and lauded Sihanouk as an "old friend of the Chinese people" who made an "indelible contribution to the development of friendly relations between China and Cambodia".

Other high-ranking Chinese officials including State Councilor Dai Bingguo -- China's top official on foreign relations -- and Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi also offered condolences, calling Sihanouk "a great friend of China", the ministry said.

Sihanouk, whose life mirrored the turbulent history of his nation where he remained a revered figure, died of a heart attack in Beijing Monday at the age of 89, his long time personal assistant Prince Sisowath Thomico told AFP.

He was a frequent visitor to China where he received most of his medical treatment.

The former king, who abruptly quit the throne in October 2004 in favor of his son, had been staying at his Beijing residence since January.

Early in his long political life and especially during the war in Indochina and the Cold War, Sihanouk found an influential ally in China, and was close to revolutionary leaders Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai.

"I've always considered China as my second homeland ... only China has supported us, the Khmer resistance, the Soviet Union does not want us," he said in 1971.