Xi, Merkel aim for stronger ties
Germany can gain from role in new opening-up initiative, he says
Germany is invited to seize opportunities created by China’s new round of opening-up, and the two countries should cooperate more on industries of the future, President Xi Jinping said on Thursday.
Xi made the remarks while meeting with visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. It’s the German leader’s 11th visit to China.
China and Germany should set an example of win-win cooperation, take the lead in strengthening China-Europe relations, promote building a new type of international relations and overcome their ideological differences while enhancing cooperation, Xi said.
The president pointed out that the two sides should continue with high-level exchanges, enhance the toplevel design of bilateral ties, encourage exchanges in all areas and make full use of all ways to continue dialogue.
The two countries should make joint efforts to expand markets and jointly develop a third-party market, Xi said, adding that people-to-people exchanges should also be boosted.
China would like to work with Germany to push the improvement of global governance under a multilateral framework, Xi said, adding that the two countries should enhance coordination on hot issues.
Xi said that China appreciates Germany’s support of the Belt and Road Initiative, and German enterprises are welcome to participate.
China firmly supports the unification of Europe and hopes that the European Union remains united, stable, open and prosperous, Xi said, adding that China would like to work with Europe to uphold multilateralism.
China and Europe should send more clear and confident signals to the international community and push stable development of the global situation to benefit all sides, Xi said.
Calling China an important member of the international community, Merkel said China is a significant German trade partner.
Germany would like to seize the opportunities presented by China’s opening-up, expand trade and investment cooperation with China and boost people-to-people exchanges, she said.
The two countries should
enhance communication and coordination on global affairs and strengthen cooperation under multilateral frameworks such as the G20, she said.
When Premier Li Keqiang met with Merkel on Thursday, he called for two-way opening-up to expand bilateral cooperation.
German companies are welcome to continue sharing benefits brought by an opening Chinese market, and Germany and other European countries are expected to create fair and open environments for Chinese companies to invest in, he said.
The premier also called for strengthening cooperation in emerging industries such as artificial intelligence, new energy automobiles and autonomous vehicles, and exploring the potential in research and development of smart manufacturing.
The Chinese government supports sending interns to each other’s countries to learn professional skills and promote craftsmanship, he said.
China recently released a series of measures for opening-up and will further reduce market access thresholds, and lower shareholding ratios of foreign companies in fields such as automaking and finance, he said.
Chinese companies are welcome to invest in Germany, which supports advancing the China-EU bilateral investment treaty, Merkel told Li.
Also on Thursday, Li and Merkel attended a meeting of the Chinese-German Economic Advisory Committee with business representatives from both countries.
Noting that this year marks the first in which the re-elected governments of both countries are taking place, Li said that it is of great significance for business leaders of both countries to speak face-to-face on bilateral cooperation.
China and Germany, as the largest economies in Asia and Europe, bear responsibility in their cooperation to fight against protectionism and unilateralism and to protect trade and investment facilitation, Li said.
Merkel said the committee is maturing and has provided a good platform for candid communication for both countries.
She said that bilateral business investment in both countries shows good momentum and that she hopes both countries will provide equal market access to investments for each other.
Zhang Yue contributed to this story.