BONN, Nov. 15, 1996 (Kyodo) -- By: Cornelia Winter

German President Roman Herzog will visit China on a seven-day trip starting next Monday, the first visit by a German head of state since the Tiananmen Square incident in 1989.

Beside holding political talks with Chinese President Jiang Zemin on Tuesday and Chinese Premier Li Peng on Wednesday, Herzog will also give his attention to economical, cultural and educational matters, a presidential office spokeswoman told Kyodo News.

He will visit the Great Wall, the Ming Tombs and several museums, attend a concert and talk with students at Tongji University in Shanghai, she said.

The visit will be a difficult mission for the president since the relationship between the two countries has experienced tension since the Tiananmen incident in 1989, according to the spokeswoman.

In June 1989, the German parliament condemned the crackdown on pro-democracy students and asked the government to suspend high-ranking political contacts until the Chinese government showed respect for elementary human rights.

German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel nevertheless visited China in 1992, followed by Chancellor Helmut Kohl in 1993.

In 1994, Chinese Premier Li Peng came to Germany but left earlier than scheduled because of several protests by human rights organizations against his role in the June 1989 incident.

In 1995, Kohl visited China again, but was heavily criticized by the opposition after his return for having visited a Chinese armed forces base.

For its part, the national paper Tageszeitung carried the headline ''Chancellor rehabilitates murderer.''

In June this year, the German parliament passed a resolution sharply critical of Chinese policy toward Tibet.

As a consequence, the Chinese government asked Foreign Minister Kinkel to postpone his planned visit in July. Kinkel ultimately visited China last month.

In a statement following a September meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Qian Qichen at the U.N. headquarters in New York, Kinkel declared the two countries have agreed to extend the bilateral relationship on the basis of mutual respect, a search for common ground, noninterference and equality.

It was this decision that opened the way for the German president's current China visit, the spokeswoman said.

Chinese Ambassador to Bonn Mei Zhaorong, stressed in an interview with the local paper Generalanzeiger in Bonn on Thursday the bilateral relationship has ''returned to a normal and healthy basis.''

Asked about the visit of President Herzog next week, he said, ''This visit is of great importance for us. It will contribute much to the extension of relations between our two countries.''

But in a reference to the human rights issue, he also mentioned the expectation that ''On questions of differing opinion, we should have a dialogue of equality and mutual respect, not confrontation. We reject attempts to impose one's will on others.''

Asked about the ongoing problem in the bilateral relationship, the presidential office spokeswoman said, ''The president will certainly mention human rights in China, but of course this is not an official item on the agenda.''