(Economic Observer) Mertz's visit to China leads to deep economic and trade interaction between China and Germany
Beijing, February 27th (Xinhua) - German Chancellor Merkel recently concluded his official visit to China. This is his first visit to China since taking office, and it is also an important interaction between high-level exchanges between China and Europe this year.
On the day of arriving in Beijing, Mertz posted on social media in Chinese, emphasizing the importance of maintaining and deepening diplomatic and economic relations between Germany and China. During the meeting with the Chinese side, he emphasized once again that the two countries are far apart but have close economic ties and enormous potential for cooperation.
During the two-day visit, economic and trade issues were one of Mertz's core concerns.
The luxurious economic and trade delegation has attracted attention from the outside world, accompanied by about 30 top German executives from companies such as Bayer, Adidas, Siemens, Volkswagen, Mercedes Benz, BMW, etc.
The size and level of the delegation far exceed the past, reflecting Germany's willingness to deepen bilateral economic and trade relations. "Jin Ling, director of the Institute of Global Governance and International Organizations at the China Academy of International Studies, observed that most of the follow-up companies have been deeply involved in China for a long time, highlighting the close economic and trade relationship between the two sides.
Bayer Group is incubating local pharmaceutical startups in China, BMW, Volkswagen and Chinese enterprises are jointly developing new energy vehicle models, Siemens is setting up a new research and development center in China... Sino German cooperation is constantly opening up new spaces.
It is worth noting that from the business layout of the follow-up enterprises, their cooperation focus in China is expanding from traditional fields such as automobiles and chemicals to emerging fields such as artificial intelligence and industrial digitization.
This development trend also echoes with Mertz's other itinerary arrangement.
After finishing his trip in Beijing, Mertz went to Hangzhou to visit Chinese robotics company Yushu Technology. During their stay in Hangzhou, the German delegation also had exchanges with 10 Chinese enterprises from the fields of artificial intelligence, humanoid robots, and new energy vehicles.
As a country dominated by manufacturing, Germany pays more attention to the development of high-tech, "Jian Junbo, director of the China Europe Relations Research Center at Fudan University, told China News Service reporters. Mertz's visit is not only aimed at understanding the current development status of China's high-tech field, but also hopes to seek new cooperation opportunities for the domestic industry.
The achievement of pragmatic results adds expectations for future cooperation. According to the Chinese side, during the visit, more than ten commercial agreements were reached between Chinese and German enterprises, involving industries such as automobiles, machinery, energy, logistics, and finance.
Mertz also mentioned that he witnessed and accompanied the advancement of many new business collaborations, which have been reached and deepened in the past few days.
Experts point out that the focus on economic and trade issues reflects the practical focus of Sino German relations, from bilateral talks to business visits and project signing.
In recent years, the trade volume between China and Germany has remained above 200 billion US dollars, and the stock of two-way investment has exceeded 65 billion US dollars, both accounting for nearly a quarter of the overall scale of China and the European Union.
Jin Ling believes that the resilience of Sino German economic and trade cooperation comes from the complementarity of industries and the mutually beneficial symbiotic relationship between enterprises and markets. In the future, both parties need to explore new paths of cooperation through innovative partnerships.
At the symposium of the China Germany Economic Advisory Committee held during this visit, the Chinese side proposed that both sides can focus on three areas for coordinated efforts: strengthening the basic foundation of traditional cooperation; Seize new opportunities for future development; Create a favorable environment for investment and business development.
The joint press statement issued by both sides also mentioned that they unanimously believe that mutual respect, mutual benefit and win-win results, continued open dialogue, and cooperation to address common challenges are the fundamental principles for developing Sino German relations. We are willing to address each other's concerns through frank and open dialogue to ensure long-term, balanced, trustworthy, and sustainable economic and trade relations.
In Jian Junbo's view, Mertz's visit to China is not only a recalibration of Germany's bilateral relations, but also a microcosm of Europe's pursuit of diverse cooperation paths in the global changing situation.
Experts believe that in the future, if both sides can take economic and trade cooperation as the driving force, steadily promote government consultation mechanisms and exchanges at all levels, China Germany and even China Europe relations are expected to further deepen cooperation and expand consensus.