Li wants trade ties explored further
CHINESE Premier Li Keqiang said China and Germany need to further explore their potential to improve trade facilitation and expand service trade between the two countries.
Li, who was in Germany on a three-day official visit, made the remarks at the closing ceremony of a forum on economic and technological cooperation which drew around 400 representatives from both countries.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel also attended the event.
The Chinese premier called on the two countries to increase two-way investment and offer a fair, transparent and predictable investment environment for each other’s enterprises.
He said there are great possibilities for German companies to expand their exports of competitive goods, high-end equipment and high-quality services to the Chinese market.
Noting that China-Germany cooperation has seen comprehensive, stable and healthy development, Li said the two countries need to actively promote innovation cooperation and further synergize their development strategies in innovation.
Last year, Chinese President Xi Jinping paid a successful visit to Germany, mapping out the future of the two countries’ relations with German leaders, Li said.
China-Germany cooperation is a fine example of cooperation between major countries as well as the South and the North, Li said. Such a partnership has guided the China-Europe ties for a long time and injected vitality to the growths of both countries and the world at large, he added.
Li said industries like electric vehicle and intelligent manufacturing should be taken as a cooperation platform, calling on the two countries to step up cooperation in emerging industries including artificial intelligence, new-energy cars and autopilot.
Li also expressed China’s willingness to cooperate with Germany in expanding thirdparty markets and exploring opportunities in such fields as inter-connectivity, industrial construction, equipment manufacturing and public transportation in several regions like the Central and Eastern Europe, the Latin America and Africa.
When it comes to trade and investment, the premier said that without free and open trading and investment environment, the economic and technological cooperation between China and Germany will come to a standstill.
China and Germany reaffirmed the stance that the two economies will jointly safeguard free trade and firmly oppose unilateralism and protectionism, and defend the rule-based multilateral trading system, he said.
In addition, China will stay committed to continuously expanding opening-up so as to better cope with unilateralism and protectionism, Li added.
Given the current circumstance of globalization, starting a trade dispute not only harms the benefits of both sides but is detrimental to the interests of all parties involved in the global industrial chain, Li said, stressing that there wouldn’t be any winner in a trade dispute.
The current good momentum of China’s development is the result of the continual optimization of economic structure as well as the rising internal driving force of growth, he said, noting China will do it better to maintain a more stable and sustainable growth.
China is confident in and capable of handling any risks and challenges, Li said, adding that his country will diversify its market with fair, open and transparent competition.
Prior to the forum, Li and Merkel held a meeting and co-chaired the fifth round of China-Germany intergovernmental consultations, in which they agreed to continuously cement and advance political mutual trust and lay a solid foundation for the two countries’ all-dimensional strategic partnership to promote the two countries’ cooperation to a higher level.
Li arrived in Berlin on Sunday after wrapping up his trip to Bulgaria.