Chinese President Hu Jintao will start his state visit to Austria Sunday, which is expected to lift bilateral ties to a new high.

The visit is the first to Austria by a Chinese president in 12 years, and reciprocates Austrian President Heinz Fischer's trip to Beijing in February 2010.

During the visit, President Hu will exchange views on issues of common interest with his Austrian counterpart.

China-Austria relations have enjoyed a constant, stable, healthy and comprehensive development since the two nations established diplomatic ties 40 years ago.

President Hu's visit will help deepen the political mutual trust, summarize the development of the bilateral ties and chart its future course, expand economic and trade cooperation and promote people-to-people exchange between the two nations.

Among the European countries, Austria was among the first to recognize the People's Republic of China.

Although there are great differences between the two nations, they have taken similar or identical stands on a broad range of international affairs and cooperated and coordinated on various global issues.

Fruitful high-level visits and meetings between Chinese and Austrian leaders have continued in recent years, and, more importantly, outlined the future of bilateral cooperation and boosted mutual trust between the two countries.

The frequent exchanges of high-level visits and contacts are a tribute to the friendly Austria-China relations, Fischer said last month during his meeting with Li Congjun, president of Xinhua News Agency.

Bilateral trade has gained momentum in recent years, as the two-way trade volume hit 6.1 billion U.S. dollars in 2010, a 26-percent increase from 2009. The trade volume in the first eight months of this year has reached about 4.6 billion dollars, up 18.4 percent year on year.

Both China and Austria boast long-flourishing and colorful cultures, which are both well known around the world.

The two countries have held or will hold over 200 cultural activities this year, including concerts, exhibitions, performances and seminars. All activities convey the same spirit: to deepen mutual understanding, strengthen friendship and broaden cooperation.

Austria has advanced technology and rich experience in fields such as energy saving, environmental protection, and the exploration of new or renewable energy, which are greatly needed in China. The two countries can boost cooperation in these fields, bringing benefits to the two peoples.