The significance of China-Germany relations goes beyond bilateral scope, Chinese President Xi Jinping said, adding that China and Germany are not competitors or rivals.
President Xi made the remarks when meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the closing ceremony of the Global Governance Forum in Paris on Tuesday.
In 2018, China remained Germany's largest trading partner for the third consecutive year, and the two sides will work together to further promote practical cooperation, Xi said.
He then put forward three suggestions on China-Germany relations:
- Setting a model for global cooperation with China-Germany relations. The two sides will strengthen cooperation in artificial intelligence, new materials, new energy, smart cities, etc.
- Injecting more stable factors to global development with cooperation between China and Europe.
China regards Europe as an important power in promoting multilateralism and is a firm supporter of European integration.
China hopes the German side plays an active role in China-EU relations.
- Jointly maintaining multilateralism and improving global governance.
Xi noted that the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) will promote global economic cooperation and help build an open world economic system.
China is willing to work with Germany to actively explore third-party market cooperation.
Merkel responded that the two sides share broad common interests and Germany will strengthen cooperation with China in economy and trade, adding that the German side will provide a fair and good business environment for Chinese enterprises.
Germany has great interests in attending the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in April, she added.
