BEIJING, July 8 -- Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang on Tuesday met with Martin Winterkorn, chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG.

China-Germany economic and trade cooperation plays a leading role in China-Europe economic ties and provides a strong driving force for China-Germany relations, Wang said.

He called on Volkswagen to expand investment in China, strengthen cooperation with the country in research and development, and increase joint work on new energy vehicles so as to contribute to China-Germany economic ties.

FAW Group, China's leading automaker, and Volkswagen announced on Monday that they will build two new manufacturing bases in Qingdao City and Tianjin Municipality.