JIANG ZEMIN ON STATE VISIT TO ITALY
Some demonstrations and a lot of business for the visit of the Chinese president
V enice, birthplace of Marco Polo, who discovered "Cathay" or China, could not have been a more appropriate start for the official visit to Italy of Chinese president Jiang Zemin.
Outside the Danieli hotel where he was staying, eight people chained themselves together and unrolled a banner saying "Free Tibet!" A press release from the Vatican Press Office, demanding the release of two Bishops in China, was the only other episode to sour the visit for this modern Chinese emperor.
Italy is the third greatest supplier of the world's most populous country (1.2 billion inhabitants) and trades with Cina to the tune of twelve thousand billion Lire (6.5 billion dollars).
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