German Chancellor Angela Merkel was due to meet IMF chief Christine Lagarde later Tuesday for talks set to focus on Greece as it races to reduce its debt in a bid to secure more aid.

A day after Merkel hosted French President Nicholas Sarkozy for their first tete-a-tete of 2012, she will press on with an intensive three-day diplomatic push as the Eurozone crisis shows no signs of abating.

Ratings agency Fitch said on Tuesday it does not plan to downgrade France's top triple-A credit rating in 2012 unless the country suffers major economic shocks.

"Fitch maintains its position from December. In the absence of important shocks that could be linked to a strong worsening of the situation in the Eurozone, Fitch does not foresee modifying its negative outlook (on the ratings) before 2013," a Fitch spokeswoman said.

Britain's government on Tuesday approved the construction of a high speed rail network linking London with cities in central and northern England from 2026 at a cost of almost £33 billion.

Supporters of High Speed 2, which will see journey times between London and Britain's second biggest city Birmingham slashed to 49 minutes from around 1.5 hours now, say it will boost Britain's economy in both the short and long term.

China's Premier Wen Jiabao will this week visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, the foreign ministry said Tuesday, amid mounting international tensions over oil-rich Iran.

Saudi Arabia is already the largest provider of oil to energy-hungry China, which is under pressure to secure the energy supplies it needs to keep its booming economy going.

Asian markets were mixed on Monday as worries over the Eurozone debt crisis were tempered by better-than-expected U.S. jobs data, while the under-pressure euro touched fresh lows.

South Korea's benchmark Kospi index closed 0.90 percent, or 16.65 points, down at 1,826.49, Sydney edged down 3.1 points to 4,105.4 and Hong Kong closed up 1.47 percent, or 272.66 points, at 18,865.72.

Oil prices rose on Monday after the United States stepped up pressure on Iran over the Islamic Republic's threat to close the Strait of Hormuz -- a key shipping route for oil exports to the West.

Brent North Sea crude for delivery in February climbed 33 cents to $113.39 a barrel in early London deals.

The German trade surplus grew in November as exports increased and imports declined, official data showed on Monday.

Europe's biggest economy exported goods worth 90.7 billion euros ($115 billion) in seasonally-adjusted terms in November, 2.5 percent more than in October, the national statistics office Destatis said.

After a relatively calm start to the year, the Eurozone crisis roared back into the picture on Monday as the euro struggled on the markets ahead of a crunch meeting between the French and German leaders.

The single currency tested fresh 16-month lows against the dollar as doubts continued to rage over Europe's ability to tackle the debt crisis, now entering its third year with little sign of easing.

Japanese auto giant Nissan and German luxury car maker Mercedes-Benz on Sunday announced a tie-up to produce engines in the United States, hailed as their biggest joint project outside Europe.

Kuwait's police have uncovered a plan to smuggle 2.5 million liters of subsidized diesel and arrested 25 people in connection with the scheme, the interior ministry said Sunday.

The diesel was found in tanks and containers at several stores in the southern oil-rich industrial area of Mina Abdullah, the ministry said in a statement cited by the official KUNA news agency.