(Photo: Agencies)

Nigerien President Mahamadou Issoufou will visit China on May 26-30 at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping. He will meet with Xi and both leaders will attend the signing ceremony of relevant cooperation agreements, said Lu Kang, spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry at a press conference on Wednesday.

Niger is an influential country in West Africa, said Lu, adding that China and Niger are good friends with mutual respect and trust, and good partners of mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation.

Lu hailed the achievements the two countries made in the fields of medical services, infrastructure building, energy, and resources, noting that China and Niger have also enhanced mutual trust and maintained good communication and coordination in international affairs.

"We believe that President Issoufou's visit will inject new impetus to the development of China-Niger relations, push forward bilateral ties to a new stage and bring benefits to the two peoples," said Lu.

Issoufou will also meet with Premier Li Keqiang and Chairman of the Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress (NPC)  Li Zhanshu. Apart from Beijing, he will also visit southeast China's Zhejiang Province and east China's Jiangxi Province during his trip, according to the spokesperson.