(Updates with appeal for help for dissident)

By Peter Ehrlich

BEIJING, Oct 21 (Reuter) - German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel said on Monday the family of detained Chinese dissident Wang Dan had appealed for him to raise Wang's case in meetings with Chinese officials.

Kinkel, who arrived in China on Monday for a five-day visit, said he would raise human rights issues with Chinese authorities but stopped short of saying whether he would bring up the case of Wang, who faces the capital charge of plotting to overthrow the government.

"There was an appeal by Wang Dan's family," Kinkel told reporters travelling with him.

Kinkel would meet Chinese Foreign Minister Qian Qichen later on Monday, said a spokesman for the German embassy.

"I will raise human rights issue with Chinese leaders, but it is important not to talk about human rights issues in a confrontational way," Kinkel said.

Kinkel would also meet President Jiang Zemin and Premier Li Peng.

Wang, a student leader of the 1989 pro-democracy demonstrations that were crushed by the army with heavy loss of life, was expected to be tried soon in secret, family members said. He had been previously jailed for four years for his role in the protests.

Kinkel did not explain how Wang's family had made the appeal to him, and Wang's family could not be reached for comment.

Court officials have confirmed that Wang, detained since May 1995, has been charged with plotting to overthrow the government a crime that carries a maximum penalty of death and a minimum of 10 years in prison. Officials declined to provide any further details of Wang's trial.

Kinkel said his long-delayed visit was aimed at putting bilateral ties back on track after a row over Tibet.

He had originally planned a visit in July, but Beijing withdrew its invitation after the German lower house of parliament passed a resolution accusing China of trying to eradicate Tibet's cultural identity.

After talks on the sidelines of the United Nations general assembly meeting in New York in September, Kinkel and Qian said they had cleared up outstanding problems between China and its biggest European trade partner. Kinkel's invitation was then renewed.

Talks between Kinkel and Qian were expected to focus on likely areas of future cooperation, including environmental policy, and preparation for a state visit by President Roman Herzog scheduled for next month.

German opposition politicians have long been critical of Kinkel's policy towards China, accusing him of treading too softly on human rights issues for the sake of securing large industrial orders for German companies.

Representatives from German industry, many of them from companies specialising in environmental protection technology, are accompanying the foreign minister.

German officials have said environmental policy was expected to be one of the main themes of the visit, with Kinkel opening a joint German-Chinese workshop on environmental issues on Monday.

As one of the world's leading exporters of environmental technology after the United States, Bonn is hoping German firms can cash in on the need for environmental protection measures in China's rapidly growing economy.