President Hu Jintao arrived in Berlin last night to attend the
outreach session of the Group of Eight (G8) industrialized nations'
summit in northern Germany.
The outreach session participated by India, Brazil, Mexico,
South Africa and China will focus on issues such as the world
economy, the protection of intellectual property rights, freedom of
investment, energy, climate change, and the development of
Africa.
During the outreach session President Hu will present China's
propositions on fighting climate change and other important issues,
Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai said Monday.
The annual summit of G8 countries - Germany (the current G8
presidency), the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Japan,
Italy, Canada and Russia - opened in Heiligendamm yesterday.
With the summit theme "Growth and Responsibility", G8 leaders
will discuss global warming and African development among other hot
issues.
There is quite a cloud hanging over this year's G8 summit, which
is French President Nicolas Sarkozy's first, and British Prime
Minister Tony Blair's last.
Apart from trying to tone down the war of words between the US
and Russia on a proposed American missile defense system in Europe,
the leaders are also likely to discuss Middle East peace, the
Darfur issue, Iran's nuclear program, and the future of Kosovo.
However, G8 members do not appear to have reached a consensus on
some issues. There are signs the Americans are starting to get
serious about climate change, but it is unlikely that concrete
measures limiting carbon dioxide emissions will be agreed on.
One topic, however, seems to be getting more attention than any
other: security. A 12-km metal barrier was erected and 16,000
police deployed to ensure the summit is not disturbed.
Thousands of demonstrators marched through the harbor city, most
of them peacefully.
(China Daily June 7, 2007)
