German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on a visit to China on Wednesday that he wants “fair” cooperation with the country. Chinese Premier Li Qiang, in turn, called on Germany to help protect global free trade, which he says is exposed to adverse conditions. TASR informs about it according to the report of the AFP agency.
In short:
- The German chancellor calls for fair cooperation with China
- China calls on Germany to protect global free trade
- Both countries want to deepen long-term economic ties
“We have very specific concerns about our cooperation, which we want to improve and make fair,” Merz said at a meeting with the Chinese premier in Beijing.
Cooperation and the European level
Alongside the Chinese Prime Minister, Merz highlighted the need to closely cooperate with China at the European level.
AFP notes that Berlin and Beijing want to build on their decades-long economic ties at a time when US President Donald Trump has caused chaos and tension by imposing tariffs on his trading partners.
China, which has the world’s second-strongest economy, became Germany’s biggest trading partner last year, overtaking the United States.
The importance of leaders’ visits
Merz arrived in Beijing after a number of Western leaders had done so in recent months, including British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. US President Donald Trump is also planning to travel there at the end of March.
The German chancellor already said on Friday that he is going to China with a large business delegation also because his country needs “economic relations around the world”. However, he noted that there is no need to have any illusions. As a US rival, the Asian nation now claims it has “the right to define a new multilateral order according to its own rules.”
Support for multilateralism
Premier Li Qiang said on Wednesday that China and Germany “as two major world economies with significant influence, should jointly safeguard multilateralism and free trade”.
Li Qiang noted that “unilateralism and protectionism have gained popularity and even become prevalent in some countries and regions.”
DPA informs that five intergovernmental agreements were signed in the presence of the prime minister and the chancellor, including contracts on continued cooperation in the field of climate change and the fight against animal diseases. China and Germany have also entered into agreements between their football and table tennis associations.
