Egyptian President Mohamad Mursi is to make his first official visit to Beijing next week.

Egyptian President Mohamad Mursi is to make his first official visit to Beijing next week.

Mursi, Egypt's first freely elected civilian head of state, took over on June 30 after popular revolts last year toppled longtime leader Hosni Mubarak.

"This will be President Mursi's first visit to China since taking office, and China attaches great importance to it," foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said in a statement late on Wednesday.

China and Egypt will sign cooperation agreements and discuss regional and international issues of mutual interest, he said, without giving details.

Trade between the two countries totaled $8.8 billion last year, up 40 percent from 2008, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

Morsi will attend the UN General Assembly session in New York on September 23, then visit senior US officials in Washington, Egyptian state media on Wednesday quoted his spokesperson as saying.