BEIJING, Dec. 8 -- Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao is scheduled to arrive in the Slovak Republic late Wednesday for a state visit.

 ¡¡ Ealier, the First Secretary of the Slovakian Embassy in Beijing, Marin Podstavek, told CRI that the visit marked historic moment.

    "Chinese premier Wen Jiabao's visit is a milestone in the relations of the two countries. It's the first visit by a Chinese leader to the Slovak Republic since it's founding in 1993."

    Despite being separated by thousands of miles, Slovakia and China have maintained a long-standing friendship. The former Czechoslovakia, which was divided into the Czech and Slovak Republics in 1993, was among the very first states to recognize and establish diplomatic relations with China.

    In recent years, relations between China and Slovakia have further strenghened.

    Meanwhile, bilateral economic and trade cooperation has experienced remarkable growth. In 2004, the volume of trade between China and Slovakia reached almost 300 million US dollars in value, four times that of 2001.

    Nevertheless, both sides are taking initiatives to promote further growth in bilateral trade.

    During his visit, Premier Wen is expected to exchange views with Slovakian leaders on further improving Sino-Slovakian diplomatic ties and trade relations as well as other issues of common concern.

    The First Secretary of Slovak Embassay believes that Premier Wen's visit would bring bilateral relations to a new level.
    
    "This visit will not only further promote bilateral relations in a broad sense but also focus on cooperation between China and Slovakia on individual economic projects as well as political issues of mutual concern."

    He adds that future cooperation between the two countries will also focus on fields such as energy, education and culture.

    Slovakia is the second stop in Premier Wen's tour following his recent visit to France. In the coming days, the Chinese Premier will also visit the Czech Republic, Portugal and Malaysia.

    (Source: CRIENGLISH.com)