Malta was the only eurozone country to have witnessed an increase in trade with China last year, Chinese Foreign Affairs Minister Yang Jiechi said on Tuesday.

Trade with China last year rose by 9.7 per cent, Mr Yang said after his meeting with his Maltese counterpart Tonio Borg in China on Tuesday.

Dr Borg, who was on an official visit to the People's Republic of China earlier this week, said the two countries have agreed to begin discussions on an updated double taxation agreement. A Maltese delegation will visit China in May to iron out technical matters on the issue.

The ministers discussed the "excellent" relations and the headway that has been made during the past two years. There is increasing cooperation between the two countries, reflected in the continuous and higher number of important visits and bilateral cooperation last year - 12 bilateral agreements were signed in 2009.

Dr Borg also noted that there has been an increase in trade exchanges between the two countries in recent years. Although the trade gap is increasing for Malta, a significant increase was registered in Maltese exports to China in 2006. In 2008 bilateral trade between the two countries doubled over 2005 figures.

Malta and China have agreed to kickstart talks on an agreement governing the mutual recognition of academic degrees. Malta has invited a group of Chinese experts to visit Malta to learn more about local systems of procedure.

Dr Borg said "the education sector is of particular importance - education is highlighted as one of the target sectors for development in Malta's Vision 2015." The government, he added, was looking forward to receiving an early reaction to the invitation for a Chinese delegation to visit Malta to hold preliminary discussions on the subject.