Over the next five days, Queen Margrethe will visit China for the first time since 1979 in a bid to continue strengthening ties between Denmark and China.
Joining the queen on the state visit will be four Danish ministers who will strive to further strengthen the strategic partnership that was established between the two nations back in 2008.
“The value of the official co-operation will be illustrated by the around 40 agreements to be signed by Danish and Chinese authorities and companies in connection with the royal visit,” the Foreign Ministry wrote in a press release.
Accompanied by the four ministers, the queen will meet with the president of China, Xi Jinping, while she will be joined by the foreign minister, Martin Lidegaard, during her meeting with the prime minister, Li Keqiang, and the chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, Zhang Dejiang.
The foreign minister will also be meeting with China's State Council to discuss international crises such as in Ukraine and the ridding of chemical weapons in Syria, and also co-operation in the Arctic region.
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Trade bonanza
Meanwhile, the trade and development minister, Mogens Jensen, will take part in a huge business conference focusing on sustainability.
“The state visit will also underline the growing and mutual public interest between Denmark and China," the press release said.
"In 2012 Denmark and China agreed to establish culture centres in Copenhagen and Beijing and Denmark will become the first Nordic nation with a Chinese culture centre."
Queen Margrethe was the first western royal head to visit the People's Republic of China after its establishment in 1949. During that visit, the queen was accompanied by a business delegation consisting of 16 companies. In comparison, the 2014 delegation includes 113 Danish companies.
Trade between the two nations has risen from 350 million to 107 billion kroner during the 35 years that have passed since the queen’s last visit.
