In between high-level meetings in Beijing last weekend, German Chancellor Angela Merkel took a walk through the hutong and shops of the Nanluogu Xiang area. The German embassy reports that she liked the opportunity to see "old Beijing" - and the challenges of balancing modern city planning and development with the interest to preserve parts of the old town.

Earlier, Merkel noted that the year 2012 includes celebrations of the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries, the Year of China in Germany and numerous exchange events in China. She said all are opportunities "to get to know each other and to jointly develop new projects and explore new avenues".

Merkel traveled to Guangzhou with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao for the final stop of her trip. Wen told a Sino-German business meeting that energy conservation and environmental protection will be key areas for future cooperation.

"We will learn about advanced technology from Germany with an open mind, and we hope Germany will open its technical market to China," said Wen, who said in the Xinhua News Agency report that China will adhere to intellectual property rights regulations.

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Celebrating the publication of the Shanghai Communique 40 years ago this month, China's Deputy Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai told a gathering at Shanghai's Jinjiang Hotel that "despite many ups and downs, the bilateral relationship has maintained the right track and achieved substantial developments".

VIP guests included Tu Guangshao, deputy-mayor of Shanghai; Yang Jiemian, Shanghai Institutes for International Studies president; Richard Solomon, president of the US Institute of Peace; and Christopher Hill, former US assistant secretary of state.

Solomon, who was a witness at the Shanghai signing four decades ago, said that then-US President Richard Nixon's "decision to break out of two decades of confrontation is one of the few great diplomatic initiatives of the 20th century".

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The Norwegian embassy is celebrating the upcoming China visit of one of its most famous sons. Composer Edvard Grieg will be in Shanghai - in spirit - providing the incidental music for the play Peer Gynt at the Shanghai Concert Hall on Feb 18. Lyric soprano Barbara Bonney will be there in the flesh, singing the concert with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of the renowned conductor Yu Long.

The Shanghai Symphony Orchestra is one of the most established orchestras in Asia. The forthcoming Grieg performance is an example of the orchestra's commitment to introduce Western music to the local scene.

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Chinese vice-president Xi Jinping met former governor of Florida Jeb Bush last month at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, calling for closer cooperation between China and the United States. The Bush family has made great contributions to promoting relations between China and the United States, "which the two nations and the two peoples will not forget", Xi said.

Xi is traveling to the US to visit Washington, Los Angeles and the state of Iowa beginning Feb 13.

Embassy and consulate news can be sent to michaelpeters@chinadaily.com.cn.

(China Daily 02/12/2012 page5)