Vice premier Li Keqiang attends Davos Meeting

The 40th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum is being held in Davos, Switzerland. More than 2,500 delegates from over 90 countries and regions representing business, government, civil society, and the media are gathering at the Alpine resort to address the global economic situation. Vice premier Li Keqiang is leading the Chinese delegation.

Vice premier Li Keqiang met with Swiss President Doris Leuthard on Tuesday to discuss the possibility of a joint free trade area. Li said 2010 marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries. He added that Switzerland was the first West European nation to recognize the People's Republic of China.

Leuthard says she values cooperation with China, and will attend the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai.

The vice premier arrived in Switzerland on Monday for a four-day visit. The Davos World Economic Forum is the centerpiece of the his trip.

The annual gathering has opened individual sessions for China, Brazil, South Africa, and India for the first time. The four countries are called the BASIC Group. It's widely anticipated that the quartet will be given more say in order to address what experts describe as the protectionist trade tendencies of some developed nations.