Chinese President to visit Middle East countries

Chinese President Jiang Zemin will on Monday start a two-week tour of North Africa and the Middle East wher he will visit Morocco and Algeria. An official for western Asia and North Africa affairs at the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that President Zemin will also visit Saudi Arabia, and an oil agreement between the two countries will be signed during the visit.

News reports quoted Chinese Foreign Ministry officials as saying on Friday that the Chinese President will visit first Britain, France and Portugal, where he will discuss China's attempt to join the World Trade Organization, SANA reported.