The Chinese leader arrives in Germany from Iceland in a trip that will take him to Sweden and Poland. Only by focusing on the "real economy" can the world "walk out of the shadow of the [financial] crisis," he said.

Berlin (AsiaNews/Agencies) - "Currently, the international financial crisis is not over and the global economic recovery is difficult and tortuous," Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said during a state visit to Germany. China will however back the euro zone because it has confidence in Europe. At the same time, it will also create better legal protection for foreign investors at home.

Premier Wen is on a four-nation European tour. After visiting Iceland, he travelled to Germany. Today he is Sweden and tomorrow he will be in Poland.

During the Chinese leader's visit to Iceland, the foreign minister of the island nation, Ossur Skarphedinsson, signed a number of agreements on geological cooperation, but also expressed his government's concerns over human rights in China.

The issue was not addressed in Hannover. In Germany, Wen noted that whilst the debt crisis has caused difficulties in Europe, it also represents an opportunity to strengthen the region's unity, Xinhua reported Wen as saying.

In relation to the host country, "China fully recognises the status and role of Germany within the European Union (EU)," he said, according to Xinhua.

German investments such as cars and electrical goods have found a major market in China. The economies of China and Germany, the world's second biggest exporter, are increasingly intertwined, with bilateral trade jumping to 130 billion Euros in 2010 from 94 billion in 2009.

• china
• germany
• iceland
• european
• union
• trade
• crisis
• wen
• jiabao