BEIJING/BERLIN, June 15 (Reuters) – China’s Premier Li Qiang will on Saturday embark on his first overseas trip since taking office, seeking to expand ties with Germany and France in a visit that comes a month after leading western democracies agreed to “de-risk” trade with Beijing.

Li will head the Chinese delegation for inter-governmental consultations with Germany set for June 20, the first face-to-face summit since 2018, before heading to Paris for an official visit and to attend a financial conference taking place June 22 to 23.