With Sino-German trade and economic ties taking firm root, visiting Premier Wen Jiabao yesterday raised cultural exchanges to a new level by inviting 400 German youth to visit the nation.

An agreement on promoting youth exchanges between the two countries was among the eight pacts signed in Berlin, where Wen held talks with his German counterpart Angela Merkel.

They also agreed to establish a Confucius Institute which teaches Chinese language and culture in the city of Hanover.

Other agreements signed include intellectual property rights (IPR) co-operation and development of several industrial projects.

"Sino-German relations have gone beyond the realm of trade and the economies, and Wen's current visit is expected to give a big boost to the already close partnership," said Sun Keqin, a researcher at the European Studies Institute affiliated to the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations.

Bilateral trade volume reached US$70 billion last year and is expected to touch US$80 billion this year.

Exchanges in education, culture and law sectors at both governmental and non-governmental levels will help the two countries consolidate their co-operation, said Sun in an interview with China Daily.

Wen and Merkel told the press that they also talked about international affairs such as Iranian nuclear issue, the Darfur crisis in Sudan, the Middle East peace process and China-EU relations.

"China supports the deployment of UN peace forces in the Darfur area, but this should get support from the African Union and Sudan," Wen told a joint press conference with Merkel after their talks.

Whether China sends peace troops there will depend on the UN Charter and the requests of the African Union and Sudan, he said.

The UN Security Council passed a resolution last month to deploy more than 20,000 UN peacekeeping troops in Darfur where tens of thousands have been killed and 2.5 million people forced from their homes in more than 3 years of fighting.

Turning to the Iranian nuclear issue, Wen reiterated that sanctions are not the best way to solve the problem.

The premier wrapped up his 20-hour working visit yesterday by making a stopover in the harbour city of Hamburg, where he met German business people.

On Wednesday night, he opened the Sino-European Economic Summit in Hamburg, with the theme "Hamburg Summit: China meets Europe".

He expounded on China's energy policy, IPR protection, trade balance and opening up policy, matters of great interest to politicians and business people on the continent.

The premier left Berlin yesterday for Tajikistan, where he will join leaders of the other Shanghai Co-operation Organization nations - Russia, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan - as well as observers from Mongolia, India, Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Source: China Daily