BEIJING (Reuters) – Cooperation between China and Germany has become more robust, solid and dynamic, Chinese President Xi Jinping told German Chancellor Olaf Scholz through a video link chat on Friday.
In a wide-ranging discussion that touched on global trade, climate goals, the Israel-Hamas war and Ukraine crisis, the two leaders agreed that China-German relations are improving on several fronts.
“China-Germany trade is developing steadily, two-way investment enthusiasm is high, and the cooperation between the two countries is becoming more stable, more solid and more dynamic,” Xi was quoted as saying by state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV).
Scholz, who came to China last November in the first visit by a G7 leader to the country since the COVID-19 pandemic, said “German-Chinese relations has shown more possibilities and broad prospects.”
In the talks, Xi said he also hoped that Germany would push the European Union to “uphold the principles of marketization and fairness, work with China to uphold fair market competition and free trade, and maintain the stability of global industrial and supply chains.”
China is facing a probe by the European Union into subsidies for electric vehicles, and also the threat of other investigations linked to Chinese steelmakers and its wind power industry.
Xi said both countries must not only develop good bilateral relations, but also safeguard the international order and multilateralism and work together to address global challenges, according to state media.
In their meeting last November, both leaders jointly condemned threats of using nuclear weapons as the Ukraine-Russia conflict escalated.
This time Xi pointed out that “whether it is the Palestinian-Israeli conflict or the Ukraine crisis, to solve the root cause, it is necessary to think more deeply about security issues, and promote the construction of a balanced, effective and sustainable security architecture,” he was quoted as saying by state media.
(Reporting by Ella Cao and Bernard Orr; Editing by Tomasz Janowski, William Maclean)
