Hu Jintao kicks off Europe visit

China’s President Hu Jintao arrived yesterday in Vienna for a state visit ahead of a crucial G20 meeting in France, amid hopes that Beijing may lend a helping hand to the debt-stricken EU.

Mr Hu’s visit to Europe, his second in a year, comes after EU leaders last week appealed to China to invest in the region’s debt rescue fund to help it overcome a spiralling debt crisis.

Klaus Regling, the head of the bailout fund – he European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) – also travelled to Beijing to strike a deal with the world’s second-largest economy, reportedly seeking a pledge of $100 billion.

But while Mr Hu welcomed a last-ditch agreement by EU leaders Thursday to tackle the crisis, Beijing has officially remained non-committal about its involvement.

On Friday, Vice Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai said the G20 summit, which Mr Hu will attend in the French resort of Cannes next Friday and Saturday, should focus on the sovereign debt crisis in “developed countries” and the growing pressure of global inflation.

Vice Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao however played down hopes of a breakthrough at the G20 meeting, insisting investment in the European bailout fund was not on the agenda. Before Cannes, Mr Hu and his wife Liu Yongqing are paying a two-day state visit to Austria with business and sight-seeing on the agenda. The official visit begins today, when the couple will be received with military honours at the Imperial Palace by Austrian President Heinz Fischer and his wife Margit. This will be followed by talks between the two leaders and the signing of bilateral agreements.

A state banquet and meetings with Chancellor Werner Faymann and parliament speaker Barbara Prammer were also planned.

Tomorrow will be dedicated to sightseeing, with a visit to the scenic Salzkammergut region, a short lake cruise in St Gilgen, and a classical concert at the former Salzburg home of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.