Chinese premier visits EU members

DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan. 27 (UPI) -- Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao began a relations-repairing European visit Tuesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Jiabao has a number of meetings scheduled with European leaders in an effort to mend fences after postponing last month's European Union-China summit to protest then EU President Nicolas Sarkozy's visit with the Dalai Lama, Tibet's spiritual leader, the EU Observer reported.

EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said Monday the two sides would discuss several important issues.

"We will be talking to him about the issues of great concern to the international community, the economic crisis without any doubt, but also issues regarding the international agenda, in which China has an important role to play," Solana said.

Wen's itinerary includes stops in Germany, Spain and Britain as well as meetings in Brussels with European Union officials.

The European Union is China's largest trading partner, the Observer said, while China is the EU's second largest external trade partner after the United States.