German Chancellor Angela Merkel gestures during a new year press conference in Berlin 15 January 2008. German Chancellor Angela Merkel voiced strong backing for the European Central Bank (ECB), rejecting a French call for a meeting of political leaders to mull monetary matters. Merkel also defended her China policy amid a major rift brought on by her meeting last year with the Dalai Lama, whom Beijing brands a dangerous separatist. AFP PHOTO JOHN MACDOUGALL GERMANY-POLITICS-MERKEL