Visiting friends

Chinese President Hu Jintao began a state visit to Austria on Oct 30, prior to attending the G20 summit in Cannes, France, on Nov 3.

Bilateral relations between China and Austria have been developing smoothly since the establishment of diplomatic ties 40 years ago. In terms of economic relations, the trade volume between the two countries reached 8.2 billion euros ($11.6 billion) last year, up from 29 million euros in 1971, and China has overtaken the United States to be Austria's largest trading partner.

On May 28, the two presidents exchanged messages of congratulations to mark the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries.