Reaching cooperation agreements in multiple fields! Consultation between the Chinese and German Governments to Explore New Opportunities Li Qiang | China Germany | Agreement
"The Chinese and German prime ministers hope that bilateral relations will reach a new level." According to the German "Business Daily" report on the 20th, Chinese Premier Li Qiang, who is visiting Berlin, co-chaired the seventh round of Sino-German government consultations with German Prime Minister Scholz on the same day. Support to push Sino-German relations to a new level. This round of Sino-German government consultations is the first offline government consultations between the two sides since the outbreak of the new crown epidemic, and the first comprehensive docking after the formation of the new government of the two countries. According to German media reports, this round of Sino-German government consultations are pragmatic and efficient and have achieved fruitful results. The two sides have reached more than a dozen cooperation agreements in advanced manufacturing, innovation, environmental protection and other fields. Li Qiang said that China is willing to work with Germany to promote China-Germany and China-EU relations to continuously achieve a higher level of development from a new starting point and defend true multilateralism. Scholz said that Germany has no intention of "decoupling" from China and seeks to establish more diversified and balanced trade relations with China. Regarding the so-called "de-risk" argument put forward by some countries, Li Qiang emphasized to representatives of the German business community on the 19th that non-cooperation is the biggest risk, and non-development is the biggest insecurity. On the same day, the latest news came from Sino-German cooperation. After nearly two years of twists and turns, the acquisition of the port of Hamburg in Germany by Chinese companies finally came to an end. Some media analysts said that the diversification expected by the German business community is not de-Sinicization, but to make good use of the opportunities in the Chinese market.
On the morning of June 20th local time, Chinese Premier Li Qiang co chaired the seventh round of consultations between the Chinese and German governments with German Chancellor Scholz at the Berlin Prime Minister's Office. Before the consultation, Li Qiang held talks with Scholz. This is a group photo of the two prime ministers and personnel from China and Germany attending the consultation. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Huang Jingwen
"Common Sustainable Action"
On the morning of the 20th, Scholz held a welcome ceremony at the Prime Minister's Office to welcome Li Qiang's official visit to Germany. After the small-scale talks, Li Qiang and Schultz led more than 20 ministerial level officials from both sides to take a group photo. Afterwards, the seventh round of government consultations between China and Germany officially began. According to Deutsche Presse-Agentur, on the 20th, Li Qiang said at the joint press conference after the consultation that this round of business negotiations between the Chinese and German governments had been effective and fruitful. The two countries announced the establishment of a dialogue and cooperation mechanism on climate change and green transformation. They will also hold the third China Germany financial dialogue and the new China Germany environmental forum, health forum, etc., and reach more than 10 cooperation agreements in advanced manufacturing, innovation, environmental protection and other fields. Li Qiang stated that China advocates forming a "green peer" partnership with Germany to jointly address climate change and expand the development of electric vehicles, green finance and other fields.
Schultz stated at a press conference that in the new global situation full of challenges and crises, direct dialogue is more important than ever. The German side has no intention of decoupling from China and seeks to establish more diverse and balanced trade relations with China. Schultz said that Germany needs to work closely with China on a series of issues, including health, in the context of the COVID-19 epidemic disrupting the global supply chain.
During his meeting with German President Steinmeier on the 19th, Li Qiang stated that this visit to Germany and co hosting the seventh round of China Germany government consultations with Prime Minister Scholz is aimed at implementing the consensus of the two heads of state, exploring new opportunities for bilateral cooperation, and enriching the connotation of the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Germany.
In a small-scale meeting held earlier on the 20th, Li Qiang stated that China Germany economic and trade cooperation has gone through more than half a century of development, and achieving today's results is not easy, bringing tangible benefits to the people of both countries. I hope that the German side will continue to maintain an open attitude, adhere to independence and autonomy, and properly handle relevant issues based on international rules and the spirit of contract. Both sides should vigorously enhance the facilitation of personnel exchanges and strengthen cultural exchanges between the two countries. The Chinese side proposes to make addressing climate change one of the guiding principles for future Sino German cooperation, promote green technology and industrial cooperation, and explore the establishment of a reasonable and orderly division of labor pattern in the green energy industry chain.
The German Chinese government consultation is fully underway. Deutsche Welle announced on the 20th that the German government will regularly engage in government consultations with countries of significant economic or strategic importance to Germany. In the past few months, the German government has held government consultations with Spain, the Netherlands, Japan, and India. Berlin has laid the red carpet for Beijing, according to the German newspaper, "China is launching a charm offensive against Europe, while Germany is still regarded by China as its most important partner within the European Union.". The theme of this consultation is "Common Sustainable Action", which aims to emphasize the level of partners in the relationship with China. The German magazine Der Spiegel stated that the German government focuses on achieving results with Beijing in areas such as addressing climate change and sustainable development.
Cui Hongjian, Director of the European Research Institute of the China Academy of International Studies, told Global Times on the 20th that the offline resumption of this round of China Germany government consultations echoes the trend and stability of the entire China Germany relationship, which helps both sides better understand their future policy directions and priorities. It also plays a very important role in exploring more areas of cooperation, stimulating cooperation potential, and enhancing mutual confidence. In addition, the resumption of the consultation mechanism between the Chinese and German governments has a strong symbolic and exemplary role in China Europe relations.
China Germany Cooperation Brings Good News Again
"The biggest risk between China and Germany is non cooperation". According to the report of the Lianhe Zaobao of Singapore on the 19th, Li Qiang said during a discussion with representatives of the German business community in Berlin the same day that China understands that all parties have their own security concerns, and the important thing is how to reasonably define and prevent risks. If handled improperly and the risk is amplified, it will only cause more and larger problems. Risk prevention and cooperation are not opposed, non cooperation is the greatest risk, and non development is the greatest insecurity. Economic globalization has made the world economy both self reliant and self reliant. We should approach the issue of dependence dialectically and not artificially exaggerate it, or even equate interdependence with insecurity.
According to Reuters on the 19th, after completing the final review process, Hamburg Port and Logistics Co., Ltd. and COSCO Shipping Port Co., Ltd. signed a final equity acquisition agreement for the Hamburg Port CTT container terminal. According to the agreement, COSCO Shipping Port Co., Ltd. will acquire a minority stake of 24.99% in CTT Container Terminal. The CTT container terminal is expected to become a major hub for China Europe trade in the North Sea.
"The diversification that the German business community expects is not de Sinicization," according to the Financial Times, the German government intends to implement a "de risk rather than decoupling" strategy towards China, aiming to reduce dependence on China through diversification. But the diversification that the German business community expects; It's not about de sinicization, but about making good use of the opportunities in the Chinese market and further expanding the Asian, African, and Latin American markets. The survey results released by the German Chamber of Commerce in China on the 8th of this month showed that 55% of German companies plan to increase their investment in China in the next two years, an increase of 4 percentage points from last year. In addition, 62% of surveyed German companies are willing to continue investing to maintain competitiveness in the Chinese market.
EU Economic Security Strategy Warned
As the two major forces in the process of multipolarization, China and Europe share much greater common interests than differences. But American media are not happy to see China and Europe approaching. "Not mentioning China at all, but clearly targeting China," said the European version of "Political News Network" on the 20th with a hint of provocation. The draft "European Economic Security Strategy" document released by the European Commission on the same day stated that some exports and investments may leak "a small portion of key technologies with military significance" to foreign competitors, such as quantum computing, artificial intelligence, 6G, biotechnology, and robotics technology. The draft suggests implementing stricter investment regulation and export restrictions, introducing review mechanisms for research and development involving security technologies, and creating a "more resilient" supply chain.
Reuters reported on the 20th that the European Commission must act with caution, as issuing export licenses and balancing security interests are national authorities that EU governments hope to retain. The South China Morning Post in Hong Kong reported that the EU's "de risk" plan targeting China has been boycotted by some member states. Some EU member states have warned that the EU should not "imitate" the "fanaticism" of the United States. Some member states are concerned that the EU is interfering too much with them by confusing trade policies with "national security".
"The German government should not regulate all exports to China," according to Reuters on the 19th. Scholz said at an event hosted by the German Industrial Association, "We have now enacted a series of laws that can be used to ensure our own economic security." Scholz added, "It is clear that we should not place the entire export process under government investigation now."
Yang Chengyu, Deputy Researcher at the European Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told Global Times on the 20th that in recent years, the European Union has unilaterally promoted the introduction of various economic policies, including investment review, subsidy review, supply chain review, etc. The core of this new "economic security strategy" is the EU's promotion of further implementation of unilateral economic and trade tools in recent years. The economic and trade cooperation between China and Europe is very close, and the adjustment of the EU's foreign economic and trade policies will more or less affect China. But overall, the economic and trade ties between China and Europe remain very close. From Premier Li Qiang's visit, it can be seen that not only Germany and France, but also other core EU member states are interested in continuing to strengthen their economic and trade relations with China, and continuing to engage in dialogue and consultation with China. This is a positive signal. The further consolidation of the foundation of China Europe economic and trade relations is conducive to the common development of both sides and also to the development of the world economy.
