Interview: Austria's Hofer seeks closer ties with China

Norbert Hofer, the third president of the National Council of Austria, seeks closer ties and more intensive cooperation with China, he said in a recent interview with Xinhua.

Relations between China and Austria are amicable and important, but there is still potential to further deepen diplomatic ties, said Hofer, who will take part in the presidential runoff on Dec. 4.

"My goal is that if I win this election, I will officially visit China," Hofer, presidential candidate of the Freedom Party, told Xinhua.

The Austrian politician believes that China and Austria could benefit a lot from each other in terms of economy and culture, adding that his country should make more efforts to further develop relations with China.

China is Austria's largest trading partner in Asia with some 11.2 billion euros (12.49 billion U.S. dollars) trade volume in 2015, according to Austrian statistics.

Hofer said China and Austria could cooperate in different fields, including renewable energy, mechanical engineering and wine trading.

"I have found that there are more and more wine lovers in China, which is obviously of interest to us because in Austria there are a lot of high quality wines. We see this as a big chance to introduce our good wines there," he said.

Cultural exchange between the two countries has been promoted, Chinese tourists are coming to Austria for architecture and music, while Austrian travelers are also visiting China to learn more about the history, culture and the development of the country, Hofer added.

He said these exchanges between the two states, not only in tourism but also investment, would benefit both sides. Endit