On the afternoon of October 18, 2021, Premier Li Keqiang attended the symposium of the China-Germany Economic Advisory Committee with German Chancellor Angela Merkel via video link at Ziguang Pavilion of Zhongnanhai leadership compound, during which they exchanged views with the representatives attending the symposium.
Responsible officials of Chinese enterprises, including ICBC, Huawei and CATL, and German enterprises, including Siemens, BOSCH and Allianz, expressed opinions and proposed suggestions on such topics as information and communication technology (ICT), greater opening up to each other, and creation of a fair market environment. The two leaders carefully heard discussions and gave responses.
Li Keqiang said, China attaches great importance to its relations with Germany. The recent video meeting between President Xi Jinping and Chancellor Merkel and our talk with entrepreneurs following my meeting with Chancellor Merkel are all intended to lift the practical cooperation between China and Germany to a new level. Complementary advantages underpin China-Germany cooperation, which is mutually beneficial in essence and directly benefits the two peoples. Both sides should insist on the two-way opening. China will continue to deepen reform and expand opening-up. China's market will also open itself increasingly wider to the outside, and China is willing to import more advanced technologies and products from the rest of the world. We will remain committed to building a market-oriented and law-based international business environment, and treat all types of market players, including foreign enterprises, on an equal footing. We will actively participate in the development of international standards and improve the consistency of Chinese standards with international ones. China welcomes German enterprises to invest and develop their businesses in China, and hopes that Germany will open wider to Chinese enterprises.
Li Keqiang pointed out that, as major economies in the world, China and Germany should jointly uphold the philosophy of cooperation and tackle challenges for mutually beneficial and win-win outcomes. The two countries should deepen cooperation in the fields of digital economy, smart manufacturing, new energy, finance, and life insurance, and facilitate the flow of the people provided that all necessary COVID-19 containment protocols are duly observed. Li Keqiang hopes Chinese and German entrepreneurs to strengthen communication and cooperate more closely so that the friendship between the two peoples will gain a deeper foothold in the two countries.
Noting that economic and trade relations between Germany and China have advanced by leaps and bounds in the past 16 years thanks to the common endeavors of both sides, Merkel said, Germany is willing to keep on stepping up dialogue and communication with China to coordinate the making of standards, provide a fair market environment for mutual investment and business start-up of German and Chinese enterprises, and inject strong momentum into the deepening of bilateral cooperation in ICT, digital economy, renewable energy and other fields, for mutual benefits and win-win results.
Founded in May 2013, the China-Germany Economic Advisory Committee is the first bilateral economic cooperation advisory mechanism between China and a major world economy, and is aimed at establishing a channel for direct dialogue between government leaders and representatives of the economic community, and providing a platform for Chinese and German enterprises, business associations, think tanks and others to offer advice and seek cooperation.
