STOCKHOLM -- At the invitation of Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf, Chinese President Hu Jintao will pay a state visit to Sweden from June 8 to June 10.

The visit, the first by a Chinese head of state to Sweden in 57 years since the two countries forged diplomatic ties, is of great importance to China-Sweden relations and is sure to push the relationship to a new level.

During the visit, Hu will meet with Swedish King Gustaf, Speaker Per Westerberg and Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt and review the development of bilateral ties and making plans for future development.

Hu will also meet with people from various circles of Sweden, attend a ceremony for the return of the replica of the 18th century Swedish merchant ship "Gotheborg" from a China tour and deliver a speech at a banquet.

During Hu's visit, the two sides will sign a number of cooperation agreements on environmental protection and other subjects.

Sweden was the first western country to establish diplomatic relations with China.

Since the establishment of diplomatic ties, Sino-Swedish relations have developed smoothly.

China and Sweden share a common interest in many major international affairs and their economic and technology cooperation is highly complementary.

In recent years both sides have worked to maintain Sino-Swedish relations, which have continued to develop and witnessed impressive progress in many areas.

The mutual political trust between China and Sweden has increased and the exchange of high-level visits has reached a climax.

Swedish King Carl XVI and Queen Silvia made a state visit to China in 2006, their first visit to China in 25 years, which is believed to have further boosted mutual political trust and understanding between the two countries.

Exchanges at ministerial-level between China and Sweden also have been frequent. Thanks to these visits, the affinity and friendship between the two peoples has been notably increased.

Meanwhile, the two countries have maintained and strengthened consultation and cooperation in major international affairs.

The economic and trade relations between China and Sweden also have grown vigorously. The trade volume between the two countries reached 6.73 billion U.S. dollars in 2006, up 18 percent year on year.

Sweden is now China's ninth biggest trading partner in the European Union (EU) and China has been Sweden's largest trade partner in Asia for four successive years.

The two countries' investments in each other totaled 2.1 billion U.S. dollars last year. Attracted by the lucrative Chinese market, every four days a small or medium-sized enterprise from Sweden enters China.

More Chinese enterprises are also entering Sweden. Last year, China's investment in Sweden grew at a speed faster than that of any other country in Sweden.

Exchanges and cooperation between China and Sweden in the fields of science and technology, culture, education, tourism and environmental protection have also been active and fruitful.

The replica of Gotheborg, a ship which symbolized 260 years of friendly relations between China and Sweden, arrived in China last year, greatly fueling the two peoples' aspiration for furthering their friendship.

Lu Fengding, China's ambassador to Sweden, had said that the political exchanges and economic cooperation between China and Sweden are both at their best level in history.

What the two sides need to do is to "further increase personnel exchanges, deepen mutual political trust, and expand the scope of cooperation," Lu said, adding that China and Sweden can make their relations a fine example for countries with different social systems to conduct cooperation on an equal footing.