Schroeder in China to oversee raft of business deals, discuss arms ban

0 Comments | AFP, December, 2004

BEIJING (AFP) — German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder arrives in China Monday to oversee a raft of deals, including an expected order by Beijing for Airbus jets, and to discuss the EU arms embargo against the communist country.

The visit is Schroeder's sixth in as many years and he will hold talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao and Prime Minister Wen Jiabao before flying to Japan on Wednesday for meetings with Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.

The chancellor will be accompanied by Interior Minister Otto Schily and Transport Minister Manfred Stolpe, as well as a 30-strong delegation of German industrial leaders looking to tap the vast Chinese market.

China is one of Germany's top two important trading partners and Germany's export-driven economy will be given...