Jiang plans to tour Europe, North Africa and Saudi Arabia during the largely ceremonial two-week trip, although China's bid to enter the World Trade Organization was on the agenda. He will leave for Paris on October 22 and begin a two-day visit to Portugal on October 26. Jiang reportedly was to spend one night as a guest of Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace. He's just never experienced such a sign of disagreement inside China.
Activists supporting Tibetan independence from China also plan to voice their views.
Some East Asian experts think the protests by Tibetan activists may be counterproductive. WTO talks, Arab ties on Beijing agenda Officials said Jiang would discuss China's desire for WTO membership with leaders of Britain, France and Portugal. Trade Minister Shi Guangsheng, who recently resumed WTO negotiations with the European Union, was traveling with Jiang, but China was not expecting to seal a deal during the visit. The European Union, the United States and Canada are pressing China to open its markets wider before it can join the trade rules- making body. China broke off WTO talks with the EU and the United States after NATO bombed the Chinese Embassy in Yugoslavia on May 7.