Chinese Premier Continues Visit to Germany

Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji continued his official visit to Germany Sunday by touring several cities in central and northern regions.

He had breakfast together with Germany's former Chancellor Helmut Schmidt Sunday in the northern port city of Hamburg before departing for the city of Lathen.

In Lathen, accompanied by German Transport Minister Reinhard Klimmt, the Chinese premier experienced Germany's leading-edge technology of Transrapid by boarding on the magnetically levitated railway vehicle with an operating speed of about 400 kilometers per hour.

The Chinese premier highly praised the advanced technology, saying it is "mature and applicable." He called for more Sino-German cooperation in this field.

The Chinese premier also traveled to Hanover and visited the Expo 2000, accompanied by German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.

The German chancellor also hosted a private banquet in his Hanover residence in the Chinese premier's honor Sunday evening.

Zhu is scheduled to leave for Luxembourg Monday morning. Germany is the second leg of the Chinese premier's tour of six European nations and the European Union headquarters. He has visited Bulgaria and will travel on to Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Italy and Belgium.



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