Premier: We all know why

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-02-03 07:56

The reason why France was excluded from Wen Jiabao's European tour is "known by all", the premier was quoted as saying Monday.

"We all know why," he said when asked why he had omitted France from his itinerary, China News Service reported.

"I looked at a map of Europe on the plane. My trip goes around France," he said.

The "reason (for not visiting) doesn't lie with China", he told a group of reporters from Hong Kong.

Wen's tour, which began on Jan 27 and ended Monday, took him to Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, Spain and the United Kingdom.

Despite not visiting France, Wen said developing Sino-French relations is in the core interests of the two peoples.

He urged Paris to "amend and improve ties" with China.

With the signing of major trade deals and European leaders vowing to join hands to fight the global financial crisis, Wen's trip has helped improve relations with the EU.

Ties soured late last year after French President Nicolas Sarkozy met with the Dalai Lama despite repeated protests from Beijing.

At the time, Sarkozy was holding the rotating EU presidency and was the first EU leader to meet the Dalai Lama in that capacity.

China cancelled the annual China-EU summit in December. But after Wen's meeting with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso on Friday, the two sides agreed to hold the summit by June.