At the invitation of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the French Government, Chinese Premier Li Qiang visited the two countries from June 18 to 23. This was also his first foreign trip since taking office as Chinese premier in March.

In Germany, Li hosted the seventh China-Germany intergovernmental consultation, attended the 11th China-Germany Economic and Technical Cooperation Forum and had in-depth exchanges with representatives from the economic communities of both China and Germany.

In France, he attended the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact initiated by French President Emmanuel Macron, and had detailed talks with the French side on strengthening exchange and cooperation across a range of fields, as the two countries will celebrate the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties in 2024.

His visit came after Macron's trip to China in April and the German chancellor's visit to China in late 2022.

It was a continuation of the recent high-level exchanges between China and the two European countries, which also reflected the importance China attaches to these relationships, Cui Hongjian, Director of the Institute of European Studies at the China Institute of International Studies, told China News Service, adding that frequent interactions have demonstrated the willingness on all sides to further intensify communication and coordination and promote mutually beneficial cooperation.

Extensive exchanges

The mechanism of intergovernmental consultation, with the Chinese premier and the German chancellor as its cochairs, is a "supermotor" of cooperation between the two sides, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said on June 15.

During former German Chancellor Angela Merkel's visit to China in July 2010, the two countries agreed to establish such a mechanism. In June 2011, the first edition was held in Berlin, the capital of Germany. Since then, the two countries have held five more consultations in 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2021.

China has been Germany's top trading partner for seven consecutive years, according to the German Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). Goods from China imported by Europe's largest economy in 2022 increased by 33.6 percent year on year to 191.1 billion euros ($204.4 billion).

Germany is also China's largest source of foreign investment in Europe. For example, BMW Group's joint venture in China, BMW Brilliance Automotive Ltd., announced it would be investing 10 billion yuan ($1.4 billion) in a new battery production project in Liaoning Province last November.

The investment agreement not only "demonstrates our confidence in the long-term perspectives of the Chinese market but also underlines our strong belief that business ties will continue to build bridges between China and Germany," Jochen Goller, President and CEO of BMW China, said during the project's signing ceremony. 

Last month, Volkswagen also declared it would establish a research and development (R&D), innovation and procurement center, with an investment of $1.07 billion, for the development of fully connected electric cars, in Hefei, capital of Anhui Province. The new company, to be set up in early 2024, is expected to gather 2,000 R&D and purchasing specialists.

German investment in China, however, saw a slight decline recently, Li Chao, a researcher with the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, said. Through high-level consultation, "we can build bridges for businesses and help restore stability in bilateral economic and trade relations," he added.

Kou Kou, an associate professor of economics at the School of German Studies under Beijing Foreign Studies University, echoed Li Chao, saying the recent visit will inspire German enterprises to further invest in China, sharing the new opportunities China's development is generating and jointly maintaining the stability of the global industrial and supply chains.

Against the backdrop of an uncertain global geopolitical landscape, promoting the continuous progress of the China-France comprehensive strategic partnership and conducting in-depth communication with the French side on deepening bilateral exchanges and cooperation are essential, Zhao Yongsheng, a professor of economics at the Institute of Regional and International Studies at University of International Business and Economics, told Zhejiang Daily.

Trade in goods between China and France crossed the 100-billion-euro ($109.17 billion) mark for the first time in 2022, with a year-on-year growth of 14.6 percent, according to Chinese Ambassador to France Lu Shaye in April.

Amid global market worries regarding the impact brought about by the Ukraine crisis, China's participation in the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact demonstrated its confidence in advancing high-level opening up, Cui said. "It will also help more people in the business communities to obtain more information and a better understanding of the Chinese market and its investment environment, thus generating more practical cooperation," he added.

A necessary partner

China's relations with Germany and France have always been vivid examples of China-Europe cooperation, Zhao said, adding that Li's visit would also play a guiding role in promoting the future development of the relationship between China and the European Union. The EU is an economic and political association of 27 countries as a unit with international free trade and common external tariffs. France and Germany are among its founders and main leading member states.

The EU is now the second largest trading partner of China and China is the largest trading partner of the EU, with 9 percent of the EU's goods exports destined for China and more than 20 percent of its goods imports coming from China.

Cui said in the past years, however, European policies toward China have fallen into an imbalance and placed too much emphasis on so-called "de-risking," or to avoid an over-dependence on a "potentially problematic supplier." With the resumption of high-level exchanges, the recent European discussion on China is shifting toward rebalancing. "The visit of the Chinese leader to Europe would further consolidate the consensus between the two sides and promote a healthier, more comprehensive and objective understanding of China in Europe," he added.

Former Serbian Foreign Minister Ivan Mrkić said in today's complex and interconnected world, deepening understanding through mutual visits and dialogues is the best way to promote world peace, according to China Radio International Online.

According to a recent survey conducted by the European Council on foreign relations among more than 16,000 people in 11 EU countries, most of the respondents believe Europe should maintain economic and trade relations with China. The prevailing view in almost every country the institution polled is that China is Europe's "necessary partner."

China-EU relations will continue, in a way, confirmed by what European Council President Charles Michel recently said, that it is in the EU's interest to maintain "stable and constructive" cooperation with China, Ann Buel, a former official of the European Commission, which plays a significant role in supporting the EU's international development, wrote on China Daily.

In its first-ever and newly released national security strategy, Germany recognizes that China "remains a partner without whom many global challenges and crises cannot be resolved." European leaders like Macron have also shown the courage to issue a clarion call for greater cooperation with China.

(Print Edition Title: Pushing for Common Development)

Copyedited by Elsbeth van Paridon

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