US$1.7b deals dominate Hu's German agenda
(China Daily)
Updated: 2005-11-11 05:47

Hu arrived in the German capital from Britain on the second leg of a three-nation European tour which also takes in Spain.

Chinese President Hu Jintao (2R) and his wife Liu Yongqing (2L) pose with German President Horst Koehler (R) and his wife Eva (L) for photographers at Charlottenburg castle in Berlin November 10, 2005. Hu Jintao is on an official four-day visit to Germany. [Xinhua]

He is scheduled to meet outgoing Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and chancellor-designate Angela Merkel today.

Before wrapping up his three-day visit to London, Hu assured Britain that China would stick to a path of peaceful development characterized by peace, openness and co-operation.

Such a road for China is "an inevitable choice" based on its national conditions, its historical and cultural traditions and the current development trend in today's world, he told a Wednesday dinner hosted by Alderman Michael Savory, the Lord Mayor of the City of London.

"China's growth means more opportunities and a bigger market for the rest of the world," President Hu stressed.

Adding cultural colour to his diplomatic mission, Hu and Queen Elizabeth II inaugurated a spectacular exhibition featuring more than 400 treasures at the Royal Academy of Arts on Wednesday.

The exhibition, "China: The Three Emperors 1662-1795," features the artistic riches of imperial China during the reign of the three most powerful emperors of the Qing Dynasty, China's last dynasty, and will last until April 2006.

(China Daily 11/11/2005 page1)