BERLIN, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier are scheduled to meet in Berlin Tuesday, Chinese diplomats said here Monday.

    According to sources from the Chinese embassy in Berlin, the two ministers are to discuss bilateral relations and internationa issues including the Iran nuclear program.

    The two ministers will meet the press before they hold talks in the mansion of the German Federal Foreign Ministry, said the sources.

    Later Tuesday, the two ministers will join their counterparts from the United States, France, Britain and Russia for a six-nation foreign ministers' meeting on Iran's nuclear issue.

    Earlier Sunday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said China "attaches great importance to its friendly ties with Germany and has always taken a strategic and long-term perspective in studying and handling the problems in bilateral relations."

    She said China appreciates Germany's opposition to a referendum on United Nations membership by the Taiwan authorities, as well as the European country's opposition to any attempt at Tibetan independence.