Premier Li Keqiang arrives in Riga on Nov 4 for an official visit to Latvia. [Photo/provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Liu Haixing, China’s assistant foreign minister, told a press briefing in Beijing earlier this week that the coming conference is of great importance both to the development of cooperation between China and the CEE countries and the China-EU all-round strategic partnership.

The Premier will attend a 16+1 leaders’ round-table, deliver a speech at an economic and trade forum, and meet with leaders of the CEE countries, according to Liu.

The EU will attend the 16+1 meeting as an observer.

Latvia is the third leg of Premier Li’s eight-day Eurasian tour that has already taken him to Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. The trip will also take the Premier to Russia.