China, Germany sign trade pacts

Agreements include air services cooperation, new vehicle factories

China and Germany signed a series of trade and investment deals on Monday during a visit to Beijing by Chancellor Angela Merkel, including agreements on two new factories for Volkswagen AG and the sale of 123 helicopters by Airbus SAS.

The two countries are exporting giants - with Germany the European Union's biggest economy and China the world's second-largest - and Merkel aims to strengthen the economic relationship on her four-day visit, her seventh since taking office in 2005.