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.

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"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.