At the invitation of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the French government, Chinese Premier Li Qiang will visit Germany and France from June 18 to 23 for official visits, the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced Thursday.
Premier Li will also hold the seventh China-Germany inter-governmental consultation during his visit to Germany and attend the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact in France, Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson for the ministry, told a daily press briefing.
With the China-Germany all-round strategic partnership maintaining high-level operation and the leaders of the two countries maintaining close exchanges, practical cooperation in various fields continues to deepen, showing strong vitality and resilience, Wang said when detailing Li's Germany visit.
The choice of Germany as the first stop of Premier Li's first visit after taking office fully reflects the great importance China attaches to its relations with Germany, Wang noted.
Co-hosted by the two premiers of the two countries, the China-Germany inter-governmental consultation is the "super engine" of bilateral cooperation, he said, adding that Premier Li will lead a delegation to participate in the consultation to promote practical cooperation between the two sides.
According to Wang, Li will attend the 11th China-Germany Sci-Tech Forum and hold in-depth exchanges with representatives from the economies of the two countries.
"In the face of turmoil in the international situation, the sluggish global economic recovery, and increasing common challenges for mankind, China looks forward to further deepening and expanding relations with Germany," Wang said, calling for enhancing dialogue and cooperation and upholding mutual benefit and win-win results to inject positive energy into the promotion of global economic prosperity and development.
Detailing Li's France visit, Wang said that under the joint guidance of the two heads of state in recent years, China-France relations have maintained a sound momentum of development.
Premier Li chose France for his first overseas visit after taking office, which reflects the great importance China attaches to bilateral relations, Wang said.
The visit aims to strengthen communication and coordination and push forward the continuous development of the China-France comprehensive strategic partnership, so as to make new contributions to the healthy and stable development of China-Europe relations, the spokesperson said.
Implementing the consensus reached by the two heads of state and focusing on the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France next year, Premier Li will hold in-depth communication with the French side on comprehensively deepening exchanges and cooperation between the two countries in various fields, according to Wang.
He added that Premier Li will also make extensive contacts with people from the economies of the two countries, which is believed to inject new impetus into the post-pandemic bilateral practical cooperation.
As both permanent members of the UN Security Council and responsible countries, China and France play an important role in maintaining multilateralism, promoting international cooperation and addressing global challenges, Wang said, adding that China looks forward to working with all parties, including France, to contribute more to advancing fairer and more sustained global development.