Berlin  - German Chancellor Angela Merkel hosted a breakfast for Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on Thursday in a sign of the improved relations between the world's two biggest exporters.

The two leaders were due to hold a series of meetings during Wen's day-long visit expected to be dominated by trade issues and ways to cooperate in fighting the global financial crisis.

Germany is the second stage of a European tour that took the Chinese leader to Switzerland for the World Economic Forum in Davos, and will see him travel to European Union headquarters in Brussels as well as to Spain and Britain.

China and Germany are due to sign a declaration outlining their joint efforts in the field of trade and technology.

The document is expected to stress the importance of China as a partner of Germany, government sources said.

Agreements on climate change and economic cooperation are also due to be signed, including one on the transfer of German magnetic levitation train technology to China.

The two leaders are due to hold a joint press conference around lunchtime before taking part in a session of the German-Chinese Forum for Economic and Technological Cooperation.

The premier also due to meet German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Economics Minister Michael Glos and Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel.

Relations between Germany and China have improved since a spat in 2007 when Merkel met the Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader of Tibet, at her office in Berlin.

The chancellor held talks with the Chinese premier when she visited China in October last year to take part in the biannual Asia- Europe Meeting (ASEM) in Beijing.

Government sources said Merkel will use the Berlin talks to raise controversial issues such as China's treatment of anti-government dissidents and infringements of intellectual property rights.

On foreign policy issues, the talks are expected to cover Iran's controversial nuclear programme, the situation in North Korea and the conflicts in the Middle East, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

From Berlin, Wen travels to Brussels for talks with the EU Commission that were cancelled by Beijing in November, following a meeting between French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who then held the rotating EU presidency, and the Dalai Lama. (dpa)