German chancellor to visit China

German delegation led by Chancellor Angela Merkel is to visit China at the end of the month for the second round of Sino-German intergovernmental consultations, dpa reported on Thursday. The discussions would focus on bilateral and international issues as well as economic cooperation, dpa quoted the Chinese foreign ministry as saying. The chancellor, seven cabinet members including the finance,foreign and economics ministers and two secretaries of state, would travel to Beijing on August 30 and 31, the statement said. Merkel was to accompany Chinese Premier Wen Jiaobao on a visit to a production plant operated by European aircraft manufacturer Airbus SAS in the north-eastern city of Tianjin. The first such high-level consultation took place when the Chinese Premier led a delegation to Berlin in June 2011.