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Chinese premier ready to work with Europe
Geneva (AFP) Jan 27, 2009 Chinese premier Wen Jiabao signalled after a meeting with Swiss President Hans-Rudolf Merz Tuesday that China was ready to work with Europe to restore confidence on plunging global financial markets. "China is ready to cooperate with Europe and Switzerland in order to restore confidence on international markets," he said in remarks reported by the Swiss news agency ATS. The Chinese premier was on an official working visit on his way to attend the annual meeting of global political and business leaders in the Swiss resort of Davos on Wednesday. Wen is later due to head to Germany, the EU headquarters in Brussels, Spain and Britain, to discuss the worsening state of the world economy with other European leaders. The Swiss government said in a statement that "significant progress" was made in identifying to causes of the current financial crisis and on the need to improve regulation, during the bilateral talks. It did not give further details. The Chinese premier and Merz, who is also his country's Finance Minister, also discussed a possible free-trade deal, bolstered protection for their investors and discussed human rights as well as cooperation on science and technology, the statement added. They agreed to begin a joint feasability study in the second half of this year on a Sino-Swiss free-trade agreement "with the aim of deciding on the start of negotiations at the earliest opportunity." The new bilateral investment deal, replacing one concluded in 1986, is meant to increase legal protection for Swiss investors in China and encourage more Chinese investment in Switzerland. Police in the Swiss capital said they had detained 21 people for public highway offences during pro-Tibetan protests in the city on Tuesday. The protestors were later released. Wen's European tour will bypass France after tensions arose over President Nicolas Sarkozy's meeting with the Dalai Lama in December -- although Beijing signalled last week it was ready to repair relations with Paris. Share This Article With Planet Earth
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China to begin projecting military around the world: analysts London (AFP) Jan 27, 2009 China is likely to begin deploying its military increasingly further from its borders, analysts at a top thinktank said on Tuesday. |
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