President Hu Jintao and his wife Liu Yongqing pose with Spain's King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia before a private dinner at the Zarzuela Palace outside Madrid yesterday. (Photo: China Daily/Reuters)

President Hu Jintao arrived in Madrid yesterday at the start of a state visit aimed at expanding economic and cultural cooperation between China and Spain.

The Chinese leaders will meet King Juan Carlos I, Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, speakers of the houses of parliament and attend the first industrial and business summit between the two countries, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.

The two countries will sign agreements on trade, science, technology and culture.

Since the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries 32 years ago, Sino-Spanish relations have developed steadily.

In 2004, bilateral trade reached US$7.2 billion, a 37 percent increase over the previous year.

In the first seven months of this year, Sino-Spanish trade amounted to US$5.9 billion, up 50 percent from the same period last year.

Hu is scheduled to wind up his visit tomorrow and leave for the South Korean capital Seoul. He will attend the Economic Leaders Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum scheduled for Friday and Saturday in Busan, South Korea.

Hu traveled to Spain after concluding a three-day visit to Germany yesterday.

During his German trip, the first as a China's head of state, Hu exchanged views with the country's leaders on bilateral relations and major international and regional issues of common interest.

China and Germany signed a series of cooperation documents during Hu's visit.

The Chinese president had a wide range of contact with German leaders from the political, business, education and other sectors.

Germany is China's biggest trade partner in Europe, and China is Germany's largest trade partner in Asia. In 2004, trade between the two countries reached US$54.1 billion, a 29 percent increase over the previous year.

Hu earlier paid a state visit to the United Kingdom, where he met with British political leaders and royalty.