'Strengthening cooperation:' Chinese premier to visit Germany, France

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) – For "strengthening dialogue and cooperation," Chinese Premier Li Qiang will pay a visit to Germany and France starting on Sunday, marking his first official overseas trip, Beijing said Thursday.

The separate invitations to Li was extended by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the French government, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters in Beijing.

In Berlin, the first stop of his trip, Li will co-chair in the 7th China-Germany intergovernmental consultation, and during his visit to France, he will attend the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact, Chinese daily Global Times reported.

“This visit reflects the high importance that China attaches to the China-Germany relationship,” Wang said.

The China-Germany inter-governmental consultation mechanism, co-chaired by Li and Scholz “will serve as a super engine for bilateral cooperation between China and Germany,” he added.

Li was appointed as China’s premier, a position which executes most of the country’s economic policies, in March this year after President Xi Jinping got an unprecedent third term as secretary general of the Chinese Communist Party.

“Faced with a turbulent international situation, sluggish global economic recovery, and increasing common challenges, China looks forward to further deepening and expanding the China-Germany relations,” said the foreign ministry spokesman.

Wang also said the visit will “send positive signals, together with Germany, to the world by strengthening dialogue and cooperation, adhering to mutual benefit and win-win, and joining hands to tackle challenges.”