BBC News Online: World: Asia-Pacific

Chinese PM arrives in Bulgaria

The Chinese prime minister, Zhu Rongji, has arrived in Bulgaria at the start of a tour of six European countries focussed on boosting trade and investment.

The BBC Beijing correspondent says that coming just a week after the deaths of fifty-eight illegal Chinese immigrants being smuggled into Britain, the issue of trafficking in people is also likely to be high on the agenda.

Mr Zhu is likely to face calls for his government to take tougher action against the gangs who run China's massive people smuggling trade.

Our correspondent says that in return, he will be looking to European countries to take a tougher line on asylum seekers. Mr Zhu and his party go on to Germany, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Italy and Belgium, where they'll also visit the headquarters of the European Union.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service