Sarkozy to Visit China

Some German diplomats are worried France might try to take advantage of the current tension between Germany and China, especially as French companies seem to be losing ground to German ones.

For instance, Siemens is doing much better in China than its French competitor Alstom, says Francois Bougon, the Beijing correspondent for the French news agency AFP. He explains that this is also one of the reasons why Rama Yade, France's State Secretary in charge of human rights, won't be joining Sarkozy at the weekend.

Earlier this week, it was announced that the new president would be accompanied by seven other ministers but, tellingly, not the minister for human rights.

Emphasis on economy

In diplomatic circles, the word is that Sarkozy might deliberately drop the issue of human rights in order to score points in economic terms. Beijing will certainly be keeping a close eye on Sarkozy and his entourage and making sure he doesn't offend.

Eberhard Sandschneider, a China expert at the German Society for Foreign Affairs, explained: "The Chinese government is already saying that France is China's most important partner in the West. That shows that France -- despite a supposedly common European China strategy -- is gearing up to reap the fruit that the German federal government has squandered."

Change of attitude

During his election campaign, Sarkozy announced a firm attitude towards China. Human rights were to be a pillar of his foreign policy. But when French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner was in Beijing a few weeks ago to prepare Sarkozy's trip, it was clear the new president would continue his predecessor's China-friendly policy.

"The expectations were high when Bernard Kouchner -- a well-known activist and defender of human rights came to Beijing at the beginning of the month," Bougon explained. "But Kouchner didn't meet any dissidents, for example. I don't think we will see a major change in French diplomacy."

So instead of human rights, there will be a range of other issues on the agenda. The undervalued -- at least from the West's point of view -- Chinese yuan is likely to be discussed. Iran's nuclear programme might also be mentioned.

The sale of two French nuclear reactors worth six billion euros will surely be talked about, as well as a possible deal with Airbus. When former French president Jacques Chirac visited Beijing last year, China bought 150 Airbus planes.