TMTPost -- In his meeting with German Chancellor OIaf Scholz, Chinese President Xi Jinping stressed significance of two countries’ mutual cooperation and cautioned risk of rising protectionism.

Credit：Xinhua News Agency

Xi called on China and Germany, the second and third largest economies in the world, 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, since 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, reported Xinhua News Agency on Tuesday.

 Xi called for joint efforts to keep to the overall direction of cooperation and development in growing bilateral ties, and stick to the characterization of all-round strategic partnership. The leader noted mutually beneficial cooperation between China and Germany is not a "risk," but the guarantee for a stable bilateral relationship and an opportunity for the future, as the industrial and supply chains of two countries are deeply intertwined, and that the markets of the two countries are highly interdependent. 

Xi believes there is huge potential to be tapped for pursuing win-win cooperation in both traditional sectors such as machinery and automobile, and new areas such as green transition, digitization and artificial intelligence. It is important for the two sides to promote the win-win features of their relations and enable each other to succeed, Xi said, adding that China's export of electric vehicles, lithium batteries and photovoltaic products has not only enriched global supply and eased global inflationary pressure, but also made important contribution to the global response to climate change and the green and low-carbon transition.

Noting that both China and Germany are countries built on industries, and both support free trade and economic globalization, Xi said it is important for the two countries to stay vigilant against the rise of protectionism, adopt an objective and dialectical view on the issue of production capacity through a market and global perspective and based on the laws of economics, and devote more efforts to the discussion on cooperation.

Germany  stands ready to promote communication and coordination with China to jointly address 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.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang the same day held talks with Scholtz. Li called on the two sides to give full play to the role of inter-governmental consultation and other mechanisms at various levels, create new growth points for cooperation such as new-energy vehicles, digital economy, artificial intelligence and green development, and make greater efforts to support exchanges and cooperation in local, cultural, sports, youth, education, scientific research and other fields.

China hopes that the German side will relax restrictions on high-tech exports to China and take concrete measures to provide a fair, transparent and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese enterprises in Germany, Li added. On the issue of production capacity, Li echoed President Xi that the issue should be viewed objectively and dialectically from a market viewpoint and a global perspective. China's new-energy industry has gained advantages through self-improvement and sufficient market competition, rather than by government subsidies, Li said. China is ready to work with Germany and the EU to uphold fair competition and open cooperation, the premier said. He expressed hopes that the EU side will uphold market-oriented and fair principles, and prudently use trade remedy measures.

Scholz told Li that German companies want to increase investments in China but better framework conditions are needed. “With this we mean equal market access and fair conditions for competition, the protection of intellectual property and a reliable judicial system,” he said. “We want to work on concrete improvements on those areas.” Scholz reiterated Germany is against "decoupling" and trade protectionism, and is willing to work with China to create a level playing field and expand bilateral cooperation. He said Germany is willing to work with China to strengthen dialogue and communication at all levels, deepen cooperation in various areas such as finance, agriculture, green transformation and renewable energy, promote cultural, educational, sports and people-to-people exchanges, jointly cope with climate change and other global challenges, and push for the greater development of the Germany-China all-round strategic partnership.

This is Scholz’s second trip to China since taking office in December 2021 and his first visit since his cabinet approved a long-awaited comprehensive China strategy last July.emphasized that the European market must engage in open and fair competition with Chinese automakers. During his stop in Shanghai Tuesday, Scholtz emphasized that the European market must engage in open and fair competition with Chinese automakers. In the meantime, the German Chancellor warned that Europe would not tolerate dumping, overcapacity or intellectual property infringement in the auto industry.