Chinese premier arrives in Germany for intergovernmental consultations, official visit

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang arrived Sunday for the fifth round of China-Germany intergovernmental consultations and an official visit to the European country.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang arrived in Germany on Sunday. [Photo: gov.cn]

The trip marks Li's fourth visit to Germany as Chinese premier, and the intergovernmental conference will be the first of its kind since the two countries' new cabinets took office in March.

During his stay till Tuesday, Li will meet German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and hold talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is a frequent visitor to China.

Li and Merkel will co-chair the intergovernmental consultations to plan and coordinate comprehensive cooperation between the two countries for the next four to five years.

The two leaders will also attend a forum on China-Germany economic and technological cooperation and a presentation of the two countries' cooperation on autonomous driving, and witness the signing of a series of documents.

Since upgrading their ties to an all-dimensional strategic partnership in 2014, the two countries have maintained frequent high-level interactions and extensive exchanges, and deepened their practical cooperation.

Germany has been China's largest trading partner in Europe for 43 consecutive years. China has remained Germany's top trading partner globally.

Li arrived in Germany after paying an official visit to Bulgaria and attending the seventh leaders' meeting of China and 16 Central and Eastern European countries in Sofia.