GOTHENBURG, Sweden - Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao met Lars Backstrom, governor of Sweden's Vastra Gotaland province, on bilateral friendly ties here Monday.

During the meeting, Wen said that the China-Sweden friendship dates back to nearly 300 years ago when the Swedish merchant ship "Gothenburg" arrived in China.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao meets with Lars Backstrom, governor of Sweden's Vastra Gotaland province, in Gothenburg, Sweden,?April 23, 2012. [Photo/Xinhua]

Sweden is one of the first Western countries recognizing the People's Republic of China, founded on Oct 1, 1949.

Bilateral economic and trade cooperation has yielded rich fruit ever since, Wen said.

Cooperation between automakers of China's Geely and Sweden's Volvo serves as a fine example of jointly coping with the global financial crisis and achieving a win-win outcome, he added.

The two nations have great potential for cooperation in economy and trade, said Wen, who voiced his belief that the China-Sweden friendship will be further deepened and consolidated with expanded cooperation.

Backstrom, for his part, said that the friendship between the two nations enjoys a long history and a solid foundation.

He said that the Chinese premier's visit will surely further promote the friendly cooperative relations between the two countries.

Before the meeting, Wen visited the archaistic "Gothenburg" ship.

The Chinese premier arrived here earlier in the day after attending the 2012 Hannover Messe, the world's leading industrial expo, in Germany.

Sweden is the third leg of Wen's four-nation tour in Europe, which took him to Iceland and Germany. He will also travel to Poland.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (C) is welcomed at Landvetter Airport, outside Gothenburg, April 23, 2012. Wen is in Sweden for a three-day visit. [Photo/Xinhua]