German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier arrived in Hefei City, east China's Anhui Province early Tuesday morning to begin a state visit to China at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The five-day trip, running from Tuesday to Saturday, marks Steinmeier's first state visit to China in eight years.
During the visit, Xi will hold talks with Steinmeier, and Premier Li Qiang and Chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee Zhao Leji will meet with him to exchange views on bilateral relations and issues of mutual interest.
Steinmeier visited China multiple times when he served as German foreign minister, and paid a state visit to China in 2018, during his first presidential term.
Commenting on this visit, a Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman called the German president "an old friend of the Chinese people", saying that he has made positive contributions to the development of bilateral ties.
This year marks the 54th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Germany. For years, Germany has been China's largest trading partner within the European Union, and it remains China's top partner in technical and vocational education and training (TVET).
According to German sources, high-level exchanges and cooperation in science, technology and people-to-people fields will be the focus of the trip.
The president is accompanied by a high-level delegation comprising representatives from the Bundestag, the European Parliament, the German federal government, as well as figures from sports, culture, education, science and technology and industrial sectors.
Hefei, the first stop of his tour, will see Steinmeier visit German automaker Volkswagen's research and development institute in China. He will also inspect sustainable urban development projects and tour Huangshan Mountain, a listed UNESCO World Cultural and Natural Heritage Site.
German president arrives in China for state visit
