China, Germany agree to speed up talks on China-EU investment agreement

BERLIN - China and Germany have agreed to speed up negotiations on a China-EU investment agreement so as to further enrich the two countries' cooperation.

Visiting Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and his German counterpart, Angela Merkel, made the announcement on Thursday during a joint press conference at the German Chancellery in Berlin.

The investment deal will benefit the two-way opening-up of the Chinese and EU markets and promote trade liberalization and investment facilitation, Li said.

For her part, Merkel said Germany attaches great attention to the EU-China investment treaty, adding that the signing of the treaty will be a good start of negotiations on an EU-China free trade agreement.

The Chinese premier is on a two-day official visit to Germany for the annual meeting of the two countries' heads of government, a mechanism that has been in place since 2004.

Germany is the first leg of Li's ongoing three-day Europe tour, which will also take him to Belgium.

In Brussels, the Chinese premier will co-chair the 19th China-EU leaders' meeting with European Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, and pay an official visit to Belgium.