China's deputy prime minister on Thursday started a visit to the European Union's institutions in Brussels with an agenda officially topped by urbanization and energy issues, but with far thornier topics also expected to be raised behind closed doors, dpa reported. Li Keqiang is lined up to succeed Wen Jiabao as state premier next year. The EU has found itself at odds with Beijing recently over issues ranging from rare earths and aviation emissions to the Asian giant's unwillingness to join in condemnation of the Syrian regime. Talks at the European Commission, the EU's executive, were due to touch on "topical foreign policy issues such as the situation in Syria," among other things, the institution said in a press release. Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso was scheduled to meet Li for bilateral talks and a working lunch, following a morning launch event for an EU-China partnership on sustainable urbanization. The day was set to end with a signing ceremony and speeches by Barroso and Li at an inaugural high-level meeting on energy. The visit was also meant as preparation for an EU-China summit in Brussels later this year and upcoming international events, such as the Group of 20 summit in Mexico. "It is an important opportunity to further strengthen the partnership that we have with China," Ahrenkilde noted.
