Chinese Premier Li Qiang meets the press after the closing of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China,on March 13, 2023. Photo: cnsphoto

As Chinese Premier Li Qiang is set to embark on his first overseas trip as premier to Germany and France on Sunday, strengthening economic and trade cooperation between China and two of European continent's biggest economies is high on the agenda.

Li will pay an official visit to Germany and hold the seventh China-Germany Inter-Governmental Consultation, and pay an official visit to France and attend the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact from June 18 to 23, the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced on Thursday.

This will be Li's first overseas trip since becoming the Chinese premier in March. Choosing Germany and France for his first trip fully demonstrates the great importance China attaches to relations with the two countries, Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said at a regular press conference.

"Premier Li's visit to Germany and France can further enhance economic and trade strategic cooperation, contribute to the stable recovery of the global economy and provide assistance to China-EU economic cooperation," Dong Shaopeng, a senior research fellow at the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at the Renmin University of China, told the Global Times on Thursday.

The itinerary shows the focus on economic and trade cooperation.

The China-Germany Inter-Governmental Consultation will be co-hosted by the Chinese premier and Germany's chancellor and has been described by officials as the "supermotor " for China-Germany cooperation. The last consultation was held in 2021 via video link, where bilateral cooperation documents covering areas such as climate response and sustainable development were signed.

Wang said that at the upcoming consultation meeting, the two sides will take stock of and promote practical bilateral cooperation in various fields.

In line with previous rounds of the consultation mechanism, the two sides will likely sign more bilateral cooperation documents for various areas, including tackling climate change and economic and trade cooperation, analysts noted.

Aside from the consultation meeting, Li will also attend the 11th China-Germany economic and technical cooperation forum and conduct in-depth exchanges with representatives of the economic communities of the two countries, according to Wang.

"China looks forward to further deepening and expanding bilateral relations with Germany, and together sending a positive signal to the world of enhancing dialogue and cooperation, pursuing mutual benefit and jointly responding to challenges and contributing to world economic prosperity, peace and stability," he said.

While adopting certain Western rhetoric against China, Germany has also repeatedly called for continued cooperation with China. In its first national security strategy released on Wednesday, Germany called China a "partner, competitor and systemic rival." It claimed that China is a "systemic rival," but also acknowledged that China "remains a partner without whom many global challenges and crises cannot be resolved."

China remained Germany's most important trading partner for seventh consecutive year in 2022, with bilateral trade surging to a record of 298 billion euros ($320 billion), up 21 percent year-on-year, according to German official data.

Both Germany and France are major trading partners of China in Europe, and further lifting trade with these countries carries great significance for stabilizing international trade and global economic growth, amid talk of "de-risking" among some European and US officials, Dong said.

During the Chinese premier's trip to France, economic and trade cooperation will also be a main focus. Li will have in-depth communication with the French side on comprehensively deepening exchanges and cooperation in various fields, Wang said on Thursday.

A top item on the agenda is attending the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact. The summit is focused on establishing a new consensus for a more inclusive international financial system amid rising global challenges such as climate change.

In France, the premier will also have extensive contacts with people from the economic communities of the two countries, which will inject new impetus into China-France practical cooperation in the post-pandemic era, Wang said. 

Bilateral trade between China and France continues to grow strongly. In the first quarter of 2023, it reached a record of 131.96 billion yuan ($19.3 billion), up 2.9 percent year-on-year, according to Chinese official data.

France is China's third-largest trading country in the EU, accounting for 10 percent of China-EU trade.