Senior Chinese leader Jia Qinglin on Monday arrived in the central Austrian city of Salzburg, beginning his three-day official good-will visit to the European country.

Jia, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), issued a statement upon his arrival, saying that in recent years China and Austria have witnessed incessant progress in their cooperation of mutual benefit in various fields. Both sides have also enhanced their discussions of and cooperation in international affairs.

Jia also said that he looked forward to meeting with President of Austria's Federal Council Anna Elisabeth Haselbach and other Austrian leaders to exchange opinions on how to further promote bilateral ties. He believed that his visit will be conducive to promoting cooperation between the two countries.

Jia, who flew Salzburg  from Pusan, the Republic of Korea, was greeted at the airport by Haselbach and a group of Salzburg provincial officials.

(Xinhua News Agency August 31, 2004)