Premier Li wraps up visit to Germany, France

Chinese Premier Li Qiang wrapped up his visit to Germany and France, his first overseas visit since taking position, and returned to Beijing on Saturday. During his trip, Li stressed that China will continue to open up and improve its business environment, and called on China and Europe to rise above differences, demonstrating the importance China attaches to the European market in an era of heightening geopolitical tensions.

Chinese experts said the Premier's visit to Europe, which included bilateral as well as multilateral engagements, has achieved positive results in confirming the importance of strengthening economic ties with Germany and France - the two major European countries - amid the "de-risking" rhetoric and have dispelled, to a certain extent, misunderstanding over the matter.

The visit highlighted China's willingness to consolidate its traditional friendship with Germany, France as well as the EU and strengthen the ballast effect of bilateral economic and trade cooperation at a crucial moment of global recession fears, protectionist headwinds, geopolitical undercurrents and unsteady global economic recovery from the pandemic, said the experts.

Fruitful trip

In a speech at the closing ceremony of the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact on Friday local time in Paris, which was chaired by French President Emmanuel Macron and attended by more than 60 heads of state, Li called on the international community to sincerely cooperate and work together to solve the problems of developing countries, especially vulnerable countries, to address the global development financing gap.

China is ready to work with the international community to promote liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment, and unequivocally oppose trade protectionism and decoupling and severing supply and industrial chains in any form, said the Premier.

During his visit to Germany, Li co-chaired the seventh China-Germany intergovernmental consultation together with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, attended the China-Germany Economic and Technical Cooperation Forum and a roundtable for Chinese and German entrepreneurs, met with representatives from German industrial and business communities, and visited German companies in Bavaria.

Germany rejects all forms of "decoupling," and "de-risking" is not "de-sinicization," said Scholz.

"We don't think it's risky to drive in a Volkswagen, nor do we think it's unsafe to get a CT by Siemens equipment. We never regard these as risks, and China never means to 'de-risk' from them," Li said.

In his Thursday meeting with Macron, Li said China is willing to work with France to uphold mutual benefits, continuously improve the business environment, expand cooperation in emerging areas, and push pragmatic cooperation between the two countries to a new level.

Li also met with President of the European Council Charles Michel, noting that China stands ready to work with the EU to strengthen cooperation in green, economic, trade and digital fields, so as to open up new space for the development of China-EU relations. Li called on the EU to view its cooperation with China in an objective and rational way and work with China to safeguard the sound environment surrounding China-EU practical cooperation.

On the sidelines of the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact, Li told Michel that China's development brings opportunities rather than risks to the world, and sending stability rather than shocks to global industrial and supply chains.