US pressures boost China, German ties
Merkel to make 11th visit to China as Chancellor this week
US trade and political pressures are providing good opportunities for increased cooperation between China and Germany, said experts in anticipation of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s 11th visit to China on Thursday and Friday.
Merkel’s visit – at the invitation of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang – is her first since her party was reelected last September, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang told a daily briefing on Friday.
“China and Germany are committed to the rules of the World Trade Organization, yet we will also talk about reciprocal access in trade and intellectual property issues,” said Merkel in a report by Bloomberg.
In a podcast published Saturday Merkel said Germany and China have agreed to regular political dialogue and intergovernmental consultations during her visits to China which average once a year, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Saturday.
“Germany needs support from China as it is facing pressure from the US in both politics and the economy,” Ding Chun, director of the Center for European Studies at Fudan University in Shanghai, told the Global Times on Sunday.
US President Donald Trump in March imposed a 25 percent tariff on steel imports and a 10 percent tariff on aluminum imports from both China and Germany.
“Disappointed by the US, Germany needs to seek cooperation with other large countries. China should be its first choice,” Zhao Junjie, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Institute of European Studies in Beijing, told the Global Times on Sunday.
Zhao also noted that US pressures and unreliability have provided a good opportunity for Germany and China to deepen their cooperation.
Merkel and Chinese leaders will “have an in-depth exchange of views on China-Germany and China-Europe relations and cooperation as well as major international and regional issues of common interest,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu said.
“Germany has maintained a trade surplus with China and it is also expected to increase deals with China on hightech to balance the situation,” Zhao said.
“It should also be noted that China may face pressure from Germany on issues such as intellectual property and the Belt and Road initiative, which China should also pay close attention to,” Zhao said.
Germany’s trade with China increased 35 percent in 2017, totaling $230 billion, website China Briefing reported.
China overtook the US as Germany’s biggest trading partner in 2016, Bloomberg reported.
Merkel will also visit Shenzhen, an economic hub in South China’s Guangdong Province. Merkel noted that she was very interested in visiting Shenzhen where China’s economic opening-up began and where there are many German companies, Xinhua reported.