China signed a 1-billion-euro (US$1.3 billion) deal to buy Airbus jetliners yesterday as German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder began a three-day visit to China.
The German chancellor received a warm welcome from Premier Wen Jiabao, who referred to his visit as "another family meeting" at the start of talks in the Great Hall of the People, the seat of China's legislature in central Beijing.
The Airbus deal calls for a state company that buys aircraft for China's airlines to purchase 23 of the European consortium's A319, A320 and A321 jets, according to German officials.
Germany's DaimlerChrysler AG is a major shareholder in the European consortium that owns Airbus.
China and Germany signed 22 cooperative documents yesterday evening, covering railways, finance, bank supervision, aviation, cars, agricultural products and digital communication.
Among the deals, China signed a US$480 million contract to buy railway locomotives from German industrial giant Siemens AG, Schroeder's delegation announced.
Schroeder, who was on his sixth trip to China, told Wen he planned to make such visits a regular annual event.
The German leader also attended the laying of a cornerstone for a new Beijing factory built by DaimlerChrysler and a Chinese joint-venture partner.
Schroeder was to meet President Hu Jintao today before visiting the northeastern city of Changchun. He travels to Japan tomorrow.