German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle has urged China to show more respect for human rights. He is on his first official visit to China.
Westerwelle told reporters in Beijing Friday that he raised the sensitive topic at a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi earlier in the day. He said Germany takes a very different view than China on Tibet and issues such as human rights and freedom of expression.
Also Friday, Westerwelle told Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao that Germany wants to boost economic and political ties with China.
China's official news agency Xinhua quotes Mr. Wen as saying his country will create a more open and favorable environment for foreign investors.
The German foreign minister took office in October. He is heading a delegation of lawmakers and businessmen on a two-day visit to China, which ends Saturday.Tibet and its exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama are sensitive issues for a western politician to raise with China.
China has condemned every government that has permitted the Dalai Lama to visit.
Officials in Beijing have accused the Buddhist monk of inciting separatist rebellion in Tibet. The Dalai Lama says he is fighting for Tibet's cultural autonomy within China.