( dpa ) - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown plans to begin a three-day visit to China Friday, the Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry said.
China hopes to "enhance mutual trust and promote the development of a strategic friendship" with Britain through Brown's visit, ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told reporters Tuesday.
Brown is to hold talks with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and other top officials.
He is also to visit Olympic sites in Beijing and meet business leaders from the two countries, Jiang said.
"Fruitful cooperation" in financial services, health, education, the environment and Olympic-related projects were likely to push the value of bilateral trade to more than 40 billion dollars this year, up from about 38 billion dollars last year, she said.