President Xi: China-Germany cooperation not 'risk' but opportunity

Mutually beneficial cooperation between China and Germany is not a "risk," Chinese President Xi Jinping told visiting German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Tuesday.

Xi made the remarks during a meeting in Beijing with Scholz, who visited Chongqing and Shanghai on the first two days of his three-day trip to China.

Xi has called on both China and Germany to be vigilant against rising protectionism and view the issue of production capacity objectively and dialectically.

Noting that the industrial and supply chains of China and Germany are deeply intertwined and the markets of the two countries are highly interdependent, Xi said mutually beneficial cooperation between China and Germany is not a "risk" but a guarantee for the stability of bilateral relations and an opportunity for the future.

Xi stressed that China and Germany have enormous potential for win-win cooperation in traditional fields such as machinery manufacturing and automobiles and in emerging fields such as green transformation, digitalization and artificial intelligence. 

"China's exports of electric vehicles, lithium batteries and photovoltaic products have not only enriched global supply and alleviated global inflationary pressure but also contributed greatly to the global response to climate change and green and low-carbon transformation," Xi said.

China is committed to the basic national policy of opening up and hopes that the German side can provide a fair, transparent, open and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese enterprises in Germany, President Xi stressed.

Noting that this year marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the all-round strategic partnership between China and Germany, Xi said that over the past 10 years, despite tremendous changes in the international landscape, China-Germany relations have maintained steady growth, and bilateral cooperation has strengthened and deepened across the board, providing impetus for the development of both countries.

Currently, transformation not seen in a century is accelerating across the globe, and humanity faces growing risks and challenges, he noted. These problems cannot be resolved without major-country cooperation, Xi said.

As China and Germany are respectively the second and third largest economies in the world, the consolidation and development of their relations carries significance that goes beyond the bilateral scope and has a major impact on the Eurasian continent and the entire world, Xi said, calling on the two countries to view and develop bilateral relations from a long-term and strategic perspective and work together to inject greater stability and certainty into the world.

He underscored that both China and Germany have made major contributions to the progress of human civilization. The two countries do not have clashing fundamental interests between them and pose no security threat to each other, he stated, adding that cooperation between China and Germany benefits not just the two sides but also the world at large.

The more instability in the world, the greater the need for the two sides to strengthen the resilience and vitality of their relations, Xi said, calling for joint efforts to keep to the overall direction of cooperation and development in growing bilateral ties and stick to the characterization of an all-round strategic partnership.

China's policy toward Germany is highly stable and consistent, Xi said, noting that the two sides need to continue engaging in close exchanges with an open mind and enhance strategic mutual trust. As long as the two sides uphold mutual respect, seek common ground while reserving differences, enhance exchanges and mutual learning, and pursue win-win cooperation, China-Germany relations will continue to enjoy solid and sustained progress, he added.

For his part, Scholz noted that Germany-China relations are now in good shape. The two countries have had close exchanges at all levels and in all fields, he said. The two sides have successfully held intergovernmental consultations and high-level dialogues on strategic and financial issues and will hold a dialogue on climate change and green transition, Scholz added.

The German chancellor said that in Chongqing and Shanghai, he had experienced the tremendous achievements of China's economic development in recent years and was impressed by the close cooperation between the business communities of Germany and China. 

He voiced opposition to protectionism and expressed support for free trade, saying Germany is willing to strengthen relations with China, deepen dialogue and cooperation in various fields and promote people-to-people exchanges in education, culture and other areas, which he said are crucial for Germany, China and the world.

As an important member of the European Union, Germany is ready to play a positive role in promoting the sound development of EU-China relations, Scholz added.

Underscoring that China and Germany share a lot in common on the issue of world multipolarity, Xi pointed out that a multipolar world is, in essence, one where countries with different civilizations, systems and paths respect each other and coexist in peace.

He said China and Germany need to independently carry out collaboration on multilateral fronts, push the international community to take real actions to better address global challenges such as climate change, unbalanced development and regional conflicts, and make greater contributions to the balance and stability of the world.

The German side stands ready to enhance communication and coordination with the Chinese side to jointly tackle climate change and other global challenges, commits to upholding the multilateral international order and promoting world peace and development, and disapproves of conflict and confrontation, Scholz said, adding that Germany opposes protectionism and supports free trade.

The two sides also exchanged views on the Ukraine crisis, the Gaza conflict, and other international and regional issues of common concern.

China is not a party to the Ukraine crisis but has consistently promoted talks for peace in its own way, Xi said. China encourages and supports all efforts that are conducive to the peaceful resolution of the crisis and supports the holding in due course of an international peace conference that is recognized by both Russia and Ukraine and which ensures the equal participation of all parties and fair discussions on all peace plans, he stated.

China will maintain close communication with all parties concerned, including Germany, on this matter, Xi added.

The two sides shared the view that it is important to implement UNSC Resolution 2728, prevent escalation and further deterioration of the situation, ensure unhindered and sustained humanitarian access to Gaza, support the early settlement of the Palestinian question through negotiations on the basis of the two-state solution and call on countries with influence to play a constructive role in maintaining regional peace and stability, with a view to achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting solution to the question of Palestine at an early date.

(With input from Xinhua)