German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrived in Beijing on Sunday night, kicking off an official visit to China from May 21 to 23.

This is the German chancellor's first visit to China since she came to power in November 2005.

During her stay in Beijing, Chinese President Hu Jintao will meet with Merkel. Premier Wen Jiabao will hold talks with her.

Wen and Merkel will give a joint news briefing after the talks. The two government leaders will attend the fourth meeting of the China-Germany High-Tech Dialogue Forum to be held in Beijing.

The two sides will also sign some cooperation agreements and projects contracts.

Merkel, who is here at the invitation of Wen, will also visit Shanghai.

Source: Xinhua