Chinese premier calls for more cooperation between China, Germany

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz holds a welcome ceremony for visiting Chinese Premier Li Qiang before their talks in Berlin, Germany, June 20, 2023. The seventh China-Germany inter-governmental consultation was co-chaired by Li and Scholz in Berlin on Tuesday. Li and Scholz held talks before the consultation. (Xinhua/Ding Haitao)

BERLIN, June 20 (Xinhua) -- Visiting Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Tuesday said China and Germany should work more closely, make more contributions to world peace and development, play the role of stabilizer in the midst of changes, and speed up the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.

Li made the remarks when co-chairing the seventh China-Germany inter-governmental consultation with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

They heard reports on the progress of China-Germany cooperation in relevant fields from the heads of 22 departments including foreign affairs, economy and trade, industry, finance, justice, transport, education, science and technology, health, environmental protection and development.

Li said that the consultation was efficient and pragmatic, and achieved fruitful results. Under the current circumstances, the two sides should seize the opportunity of green transformation and promote the upgrading of cooperation.

Li proposed that China and Germany should become partners in green development, strengthen communication and coordination on green and environmental issues, promote green energy technology development and industrial technology upgrading, and deepen cooperation in such fields as new energy vehicles, green finance, and third-party markets.

China and Germany should adhere to a pragmatic and open attitude to better achieve mutual benefit and win-win results, Li said, saying the two countries should also strengthen cooperation in global economic governance, ensure the stability of international industrial and supply chains, and promote an early recovery of the world economy.

Scholz said the inter-governmental consultation mechanism reflects the special significance of the relations between the two countries.

The German side is willing to maintain close communication with China on all issues between the two countries and to jointly address global challenges such as climate change, food security and debt problems, he said.

Germany, Scholz said, has no intention to decouple from China, and is ready to strengthen bilateral and multilateral cooperation with China to promote world development and prosperity.

The two sides agreed that bilateral cooperation is solidly based and dynamic, and that it is in the interests of both sides to deepen cooperation at a higher level, with higher standards and higher quality, and to jointly maintain the stability of the global production and supply chains, which is also of great global significance.

The two sides also agreed to set up a dialogue and cooperation mechanism on climate change and green transition, hold the third China-Germany High Level Financial Dialogue as well as new editions of Sino-German Environmental Forum and health dialogue, and continue to deepen cooperation in the fields of economy and trade, investment, automobile manufacturing, high-tech, new energy, digital economy and humanities.

After the consultation, Li and Scholz witnessed the signing of a number of bilateral cooperation documents in the fields of climate change response, innovation, advanced manufacturing and vocational education, and met with the press together.

Prior to the consultation, Li held a meeting with Scholz.

Li pointed out that the economic and trade cooperation between China and Germany has been developed for more than half a century, and it is not easy for the two sides to achieve today's results, which have brought real benefits to the two peoples.

He hopes the German side will continue to keep an open mind, uphold the independent policy, and properly handle relevant issues on the basis of international rules and in the principle of the spirit of contract.

The two sides should vigorously promote the facilitation of personnel exchanges and strengthen people-to-people exchanges, he said.

Li proposed tackling climate change as one of the guiding visions for China-Germany cooperation in the future, adding that the two countries should promote cooperation in green technology and industry, and explore the establishment of a rational and orderly division of labor in the green energy industry chain.

Scholz said the German side welcomes China's development and prosperity, noting that Germany rejects all forms of decoupling and "de-risking" is not "de-sinicization."

Germany is committed to developing stable relations with China and is willing to further strengthen bilateral exchanges, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation and reach more cooperation consensus in addressing climate change and green development, he said, adding that Germany supports two-way investment and will provide a sound business environment for Chinese enterprises to invest in Germany.

The two sides also exchanged views on international and regional issues of common concern.

Before the meeting, Scholz held a grand welcome ceremony for Li at the square in front of the Federal Chancellery. With a military band playing the national anthems of both countries and Chinese and German flags flying high, Li, accompanied by Scholz, reviewed the guard of honor.

Wu Zhenglong, among others, was present at the events.

Visiting Chinese Premier Li Qiang and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz co-chair the seventh China-Germany inter-governmental consultation in Berlin, Germany, June 20, 2023. (Xinhua/Ding Lin)

Visiting Chinese Premier Li Qiang, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and persons attending the seventh China-Germany inter-governmental consultation pose for a group photo in Berlin, Germany, June 20, 2023. The seventh China-Germany inter-governmental consultation was co-chaired by Li and Scholz in Berlin on Tuesday. Li and Scholz held talks before the consultation. (Xinhua/Huang Jingwen)