German President Steinmeier to visit China for talks

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will pay a state visit to China next week, Beijing announced Friday.

The visit, the first in nearly eight years, comes at the invitation of President Xi Jinping, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told reporters in Beijing.

Steinmeier will begin his five-day visit on Oct. 27, which will last until Oct. 31.

He last visited China in 2018, and Steinmeier's decade-long tenure as president ends in March next year.

Describing Steinmeier as an "old friend of the Chinese people," Mao said the German president has "actively contributed to the development of China-Germany relations."

Xi will hold talks with Steinmeier, and Premier Li Qiang and Zhao Leji, chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, will meet the German president to exchange views on bilateral relations and issues of mutual interest, she said.

He will also visit eastern Anhui province.

"The sound and steady growth of the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Germany."

"Our two countries have forged strategic consensus through close collaboration and achieved shared prosperity in practical cooperation, delivering tangible benefits to both peoples," said Mao.

"We hope to work with the German side to take this visit as an opportunity to cement mutual trust, deepen cooperation, and seek joint innovation so as to make greater progress in bilateral relations, contribute to steady and sustained growth of China-Europe relations, and bring fresh energy to the world," said the spokeswoman.

China and Germany established diplomatic ties 54 years ago in 1972.

In 2025, bilateral trade between the two nations totaled $211.11 billion.