China signs giant Airbus deal as Merkel visits

Merkel’s trip comes between a high profile visit to Britain by Chinese President Xi Jinping earlier this month, when he stayed at Buckingham Palace in London, and ahead of a trip to China by French President Francois Hollande next week.

China is the European Union’s largest trading partner and several major EU countries including Germany, Britain and France are wooing the country in the hope of winning business and becoming hubs for the growing overseas trade of China’s yuan currency.