GERMANY – German Chancellor Angela Merkel is making her eighth visit to China with strengthening economic links atop her agenda. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Merkel witnessed the signing of 13 cooperation agreements after their talks on Thursday, including a deal for China to buy 130 aircraft from Airbus. The planes have a list price of 17 billion U.S. dollars, making the deal one of the largest orders China has ever placed with the European aviation giant. Merkel landed in Beijing earlier on Thursday, becoming the most frequent visitor to China among Western leaders. Since 2005, she had paid seven visits to China as German chancellor and spent time in seven Chinese cities. “The close contact and exchanges of visits between Chinese and German leaders revealed the momentum with which our relations are developing,” said Chinese President Xi Jinping in his meeting with Merkel.(Xinhua)...[+]