German Chancellor Angela Merkel travels to China next week. The focus of her two-day visit on Thursday and Friday are the state of the global economy and in particular the debt crisis in Europe. It also covers the development of bilateral relations.
The Chancellor will lead political talks in Beijing on Thursday and continue to travel on Friday to Guangzhou in southern China. Prime Minister Wen Jiabao and President Hu Jintao will receive the Chancellor. In Beijing, Merkel will give a speech at the Academy of Social Sciences.
The development in North Korea after the death of military leader Kim Jong Il and the appointment of his son Kim Jong Un as the new ruler will be another topic. Similarly, the talks will include the dispute over Iran’s nuclear program and the oil embargo. One-fifth of Iran’s oil exports to China.
The Chancellor’s visit is accompanied by disturbances of the Tibetan people in southwest China, where Chinese security forces opened fire. According to official Chinese figures this week, two Tibetans were killed. Tibetan exile groups reported at least five dead and dozens injured.