China's Foreign Ministry announced on Thursday that Malta's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Tourism Ian Borg will pay a four-day official visit to the country, starting from Sunday.

Speaking at a daily news briefing on Thursday, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning noted that China and Malta enjoy a long-standing friendship and that the two countries have consistently operated on the basis of mutual respect and friendly cooperation since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1972.

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China is ready to work with Malta to use this visit as an opportunity to further consolidate political mutual trust, explore mutually beneficial cooperation in trade, investment, culture, tourism, education and other fields, and inject new impetus into the healthy and stable development of China-Malta and China-Europe relations, Mao said.

Malta is an island country located in the central Mediterranean. The upcoming visit marks Borg's first official trip to China in his capacity as deputy prime minister.