China wants to develop the untapped purchasing potential of its domestic consumers and hopes Berlin will support the expansion of Chinese companies in Germany, a top Beijing official said on Wednesday.

Chinese firms should have the chance to further boost some $1 billion in investments in Germany, Vice-Premier Li Keqiang wrote in a guest editorial in the Sueddeutsche Zeitung ahead of his three-day visit to the country later this week.

"We are encouraging robust, creditworthy Chinese companies to invest more abroad," he wrote.

"We would be happy if ...the conditions for Chinese companies could be improved for investments and business start-ups in Germany."

Li reaffirmed Beijing would support the European Union in sorting out its sovereign debt crisis, and raised the hope that the EU might ease restrictions for high-tech products to China, which he said would create balanced and sustainable trade relations.

The vice-premier said China's imports in 2011 would likely total $1.5 trillion, but acknowledged that 700 million Chinese farmers still could not benefit from the country's rapid growth and prosperity -- let alone the 150 million that must live from less than $1 a day.

"This is about the accelerating change of the economy's development model -- its development should be fast, but stable in the long-run and allow all Chinese to participate in the fruits of reform," he said.

"For that, domestic consumption must grow."

Restructuring income distributions, improving public services and establishing a social security net would release the purchasing potential of more than 1 billion Chinese, according to Li. China's vice-premier is due to meet this week with Chancellor Angela Merkel, when they are expected to discuss expanding bilateral trade valued at roughly $140 billion last year, or nearly 30 percent of China's commerce with the EU.

source:Agencies