German chancellor to visit China

BEIJING - German Chancellor Angela Merkel will pay an official visit to China next Thursday to Friday at the invitation of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang announced on Friday.

This is Merkel's first visit to China after re-election as German chancellor and the 11th as German chancellor, Lu said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Keqiang and other senior leaders will hold talks and meetings with Merkel and exchange views on China-Germany and China-Europe relations and cooperation, as well as other major international and regional issues, Lu said, adding that the China-German Economic Advisory Committee will also hold meetings during Merkel's stay.

Merkel will also visit Shenzhen during her upcoming visit, according to the spokesperson.

Lu said China-Germany ties have developed well in recent years. The two countries have frequent high-level exchanges, fruitful pragmatic cooperation and remarkable people-to-people exchanges. Coordination and cooperation between the two countries in international and regional affairs have become closer.

China attaches great importance to developing ties with Germany, and is ready to push forward bilateral relations and pragmatic cooperation in various fields to achieve new development at a high level based on mutual respect, mutual trust and mutually beneficial cooperation, he said.

"We hope this visit will boost political mutual trust, push forward bilateral cooperation in various fields, and inject new impetus into the development of bilateral ties in the new era," Lu said.