MOSCOW (Sputnik) — According to the French Foreign Ministry, Ayrault will travel to Chengdu, Beijing and Shanghai between October 29 and November 1. He is expected to hold high-level talks with a number of Chinese officials, including Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
In Chengdu, the capital of southwestern China's Sichuan province, Ayrault will open the next round of French-Chinese meetings on decentralized cooperation, dedicated to the establishment of economic, cultural, education and tourism ties between the two countries. In Shanghai, the minister will meet with local authorities and French business representatives.
The upcoming visit to China will be the second one for Ayrault after he assumed office early this year. The first visit took place on May 16, when the French foreign minister arrived in the Chinese capital of Beijing to hold talks with Wang, as well as other officials, in particular Vice Premier Liu Yandong and State Councilor Yang Jiechi.