A raft of bilateral business agreements and an exchange of views
with Chinese leaders on international issues such as the Iranian
nuclear crisis are expected to be high on the agenda of German
Chancellor Angela Merkel's visit to China.
Merkel arrived in Beijing on Sunday night on her first visit to
the country since she took office replacing Gerhard Schroeder six
months ago, Merkel, 51, is scheduled to meet President Hu Jintao
and Premier Wen Jiabao today.
Merkel's delegation, which comprises senior officials including
Economy Minister Michael Glos, Transport Minister Wolfgang
Tiefensee and a delegation of 40 executives from companies such as
Siemens and Lufthansa, indicates the economic importance of her
trip.
A series of contracts and documents will be signed during her
two-day trip, which will also take her to Shanghai.
Siemens, which led a group that helped build the 30-kilometer
magnetic levitation (Maglev) train link between downtown and Pudong
International Airport in Shanghai, may be among the winners of new
contracts.
A Siemens-led group is bidding to build a 35-billion-yuan
(US$4.4 billion) Maglev link between Shanghai and the nearby city
of Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang Province.
"Germany and China have had a very good start on the Maglev
project," Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said at a news
briefing last week. "China is willing to continue to
cooperate."
Merkel pledged to "develop a long-term partnership-style
strategy" with Beijing when she took office on November 22; and her
trip to China is only the second country outside Europe she is
visiting as chancellor, following two trips to the US.
Analysts say she faces some delicate issues with China, which
she has visited in an official capacity only once before as German
environment minister in 1997.
Merkel was critical of her predecessor Schroeder's efforts to
scrap an EU arms embargo on Beijing that has been in place since
1989.
Also, Beijing and Berlin are at odds on imposing sanctions
against Iran, with Merkel open to tougher measures and the Chinese
government against a showdown with the Islamic republic in the UN
Security Council.
"From an overall perspective, Merkel will maintain policy
continuity towards China, because she is aware how important the
vast market means to Germany," Lian Yuru, a professor of German
studies at Peking University, said in an interview.
She said Merkel is "rational, pragmatic and cautious" in
handling international relations. "Her first visit as chancellor
can also be to establish a personal equation with Chinese
leaders."
Germany is an important economic partner for China. Trade volume
between the two sides registered US$63.2 billion last year,
accounting for one-third of the total between China and the EU,
according to Foreign Ministry statistics. There are more than 1,800
German companies operating in China, according to the German
Embassy in Beijing.
German exports to China swelled to more than 18 billion euros
(US$23 billion) last year from 270 million euros (US$344 million)
in 1972.
(China Daily May 22, 2006)
