Cerar is scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting with Chinese counterpart Li Keqiang, the prime minister's office announced on Wednesday.

He will also attend the signing of a contract between Slovenian maker of ultralight aircraft Pipistrel and Chinese company Sino GA Group Co. on the transfer of know-how and the establishment of a joint electric plane production plant.

The 16+1 forum has been initiated by China to enhance cooperation with Central and Eastern European countries in the fields of investment, transport, finance, science, education and culture.

This year alone, 14 meetings between Slovenian and Chinese officials have been organised as part of the initiative.

In May, the first high-level meeting was held in Slovenia on a mechanism to coordinate cooperation in forestry between China and Central and Eastern European countries in 2016-2017.

China is Slovenia's most important Asian trade partner. In the first six months of 2016, trade reached EUR 510.3m, a 10.3% increase year-on-year, according to the figures from the prime minister's office.

Exports stood at EUR 128.9m, which is an 82.8% increase compared to the first half-year of 2015, while imports dropped by 2.72% to EUR 381.3m.