国内英语新闻:Chinese premier arrives in Latvia for official visit, China-CEE summit

RIGA, Nov. 4 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang arrived here Friday for an official visit to Latvia.

He is also here for a meeting between the heads of the governments of China and 16 central and eastern European (CEE) countries, or the "16+1" summit.

This is the first time for a Chinese premier to visit Latvia since it declared independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

Li is scheduled to hold talks with his Latvian counterpart Maris Kucinskis and meet with Latvian President Raimonds Vejonis.

Liu Haixing, China's assistant foreign minister, told a press briefing in Beijing earlier this week that the coming conference is of great importance both to the development of cooperation between China and the CEE countries and the China-EU all-round strategic partnership.

The premier will attend a 16+1 leaders' round-table, deliver a speech at an economic and trade forum, and meet with leaders of the CEE countries, according to Liu.

The EU will attend the 16+1 meeting as an observer.

Latvia is the third leg of Li's eight-day Eurasian tour that has already taken him to Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. The trip will also take the Chinese premier to Russia.