On China's 'diplomatic chessboard', Germany is an important piece

On China's diplomatic chessboard the significance of Germany and other European Union member states can be gauged from the frequent visits President Xi Jinping has paid to those countries. In fact, he is due to arrive in Berlin on Tuesday to pay another state visit to Germany, during which he will also attend this year's G20 summit in Hamburg.

China has always attached great importance to Germany.

This is Xi's second state visit to Germany after his previous one in March 2014. What's more, the Chinese president's visit this year follows just one month after Premier Li Keqiang's tour to Germany. And Li also paid a visit to Germany in 2014.