The Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Germany wanting to talk about trade – but he also received a warning over freedom of speech.<br /><br />The latest leg of his European tour began with a meeting at the Berlin residence of his German counterpart.<br /><br />Joachim Gauck praised plans for Chinese economic reform but also warned that the country needed to win the trust of its people.<br /><br />The German Chancellor took the message further at a joint news conference. Xi Jinping had written about cooperation and economic growth – but he was also reminded of the West’s other concerns.<br /><br />“An important contribution to our discussion was the dialogue on human rights, and naturally we spoke about it again today, and I made my point of view very clear: that broad and free expression of opinion is a very important element to promote a society’s creativity, be it in research, culture or civil society,” Angela Merkel said.<br /><br />The comment brought no response from the Chinese president, whose country has been much criticised for harshly repressing dissent, and curbing freedoms in Tibet and elsewhere.<br /><br />Pressed on Russia’s interests in Ukraine, he said China had “no private interests” and insisted on non-interference in other countries’ internal affairs and respected nations’ territorial integrity.<br /><br />Human rights took a back seat as two of the world’s leading exporters signed a number of business deals, including agreements for German carmakers Daimler and BMW.<br /><br />Xi Jinping, who has also visited the Netherlands and France, is next due to go to Brussels in a move seen as aiming to strengthen economic ties with the European Union.
