China's top political advisor Jia Qinglin met in Beijing Friday with German President Horst Koehler, pledging to strengthen cooperation between the Chinese top political advisory body and German parliament.

The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is ready to strengthen friendly exchanges and cooperation with the German parliament to make new contributions to China-Germany relations, said Jia, chairman of the CPPCC National Committee.

Jia told Koehler that China and Germany are both important countries in the world and it is in the interests of both countries and the two peoples to deepen and expand bilateral cooperation and raise the level of China-Germany partnership with global responsibility.

He hailed the good development of China-Germany relationship, saying the relationship has a firm foundation and been more and more strategic for both.

Koehler said Germany attaches great importance to the relations with China and people from various circles of Germany all show great interest in China's development with the hope to have a comprehensive and deep understanding of China.

He said Germany hopes to strengthen dialogue and cooperation with China in both bilateral and multilateral issues.

Koehler arrived in Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province on Wednesday morning, starting his first-ever state visit to China as German president.

He had held talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao Thursday and met with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao before meeting with Jia.

Source: Xinhua