BEIJING, May 23 -- Chinese President Xi Jinping said Friday that China is ready to work with Germany to open a new chapter in their all-round strategic partnership, to steer China-EU relations toward new progress and to make new contributions to the stable growth of the world economy.
Speaking to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz over phone, Xi once again congratulated him on assuming office. He pointed out that as the world undergoes accelerated changes unseen in a century and the international landscape is marked by transformation and turbulence, the strategic and global significance of China-Germany and China-EU relations has become even more prominent.
A sound and stable China-Germany relationship serves both countries' interests, and meets the expectations of various sectors in China and Europe, the Chinese president added.
China and Germany have developed their bilateral relations based on mutual respect, seeking common ground while shelving differences, and win-win cooperation, Xi stressed, calling on both sides to maintain and carry forward this fine tradition.
First, Xi called for consolidating political mutual trust. He said China views Germany as a partner, welcomes Germany's development and prosperity, and is willing to maintain close high-level exchanges with Germany, respect each other's core interests and consolidate the political foundation of bilateral relations.
Second, Xi urged the two sides to enhance the resilience of their ties. He said both sides should not only continue to expand the existing cooperation in traditional fields such as automobiles, mechanical manufacturing and chemical industry, but seek more collaboration in cutting-edge fields such as artificial intelligence and quantum technology, and strengthen exchanges and cooperation in areas including climate change and green development, contributing the wisdom and solutions of China and Germany to global sustainable development.
Third, Xi noted that bilateral cooperation should continue to gather momentum. He said that China is willing to share with Germany development opportunities brought by its high-level opening-up, adding that China hopes Germany will offer more policy support and facilitation for two-way investment, and provide a fair, transparent and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese enterprises.
Xi pointed out that facts have fully proven that partnership is the proper positioning of China-Germany and China-EU relations, and a stable and predictable policy environment is essential to ensuring bilateral cooperation.
As major countries, he added, both sides share a common responsibility. Noting that this year marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and the EU, Xi said that the two sides should jointly review the successful experience in the development of China-EU relations and send a positive signal in support of multilateralism and free trade, as well as deepening openness and mutually beneficial cooperation.
For his part, Merz said that China is one of the world's most important countries, and Germany-China relations have seen sound development, with deepened cooperation yielding fruitful results.
Bilateral cooperation is particularly significant in the current international landscape as both China and Germany are the world's major economies, the German chancellor added.
The new German government adheres to the one-China policy, and is willing to push for greater progress in their strategic partnership in a constructive and practical manner, he said.
Germany expects to conduct closer exchanges and cooperation with China in various areas, uphold opening-up and mutual benefit, boost fair trade, safeguard world peace and jointly tackle climate change and other global challenges, Merz said.
A healthy and steady development of EU-China relations is in the interest of both sides, and Germany is willing to play an active part in this regard, he said.
The two leaders also exchanged views on the Ukraine crisis.
