China, Germany eye further cooperation on economy, trade

BEIJING, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz jointly met with representatives of the Chinese and German business community at the Great Hall of the People on Friday evening.

The two leaders listened to the ideas of the business leaders on deepening China-Germany business cooperation, and exchanged views with them.

Recognizing China and Germany as major economies in the world and each other's important partners, Li said that businesses of the two countries enjoy longstanding cooperation, the bilateral economic and trade ties have long been deeply integrated, and severing these ties and decoupling is simply impossible.

The growth of economic and trade ties is ultimately driven by businesses through their cooperation in production and operation, said Li, adding that given the complexities in the world economy, economic and trade interactions between market players are crucial for buttressing the economic development of both countries.

The premier stressed that China wishes to work with Germany to make a bigger pie of cooperation, foster a favorable environment for the development of businesses, and support businesses of the two countries in working with each other to grow together amid cooperation. "This is not only good for China and Germany, but also conducive to the stability and smooth functioning of global industrial and supply chains."

Li pointed out that China, as a developing country with more than 1.4 billion people, is a big market. The Chinese economy has become deeply integrated into the world, and its market potential is steadily releasing, he added.

"China will unswervingly expand opening-up, uphold free and fair trade, and follow market principles and business rules," said Li, adding that the reform to streamline government administration, improve regulation and upgrade services will be advanced, and work will continue to foster a market-oriented and law-based business environment up to international standards. Domestic and foreign investors and enterprises under all types of ownership will be treated fairly and as equals.

Li encouraged German companies to actively invest and do business in China, remain committed to the Chinese market, deepen cooperation with Chinese counterparts, and properly address issues and challenges that emerge in the course of cooperation in the spirit of mutual benefit.

Li briefed the participants on the state of China's economy. He said that due to the shocks from factors beyond expectation, the Chinese economy faced new downward pressures this year, with a notable decline early in the second quarter.

"We responded to the situation with resolute and swift actions, focusing on supporting market entities and keeping employment and prices stable. We introduced and implemented a policy package for stabilizing the economy and follow-up measures," said the premier.

Through painstaking efforts, the downturn was reversed in time and the economy is stabilizing and picking up, said Li, adding that despite various challenges, the over 160 million market entities in China have shown strong resilience and vitality.

"This is our source of confidence and strength in maintaining the sound and steady performance of the economy. We believe that China's economy will achieve better development," Li stressed.

For his part, Scholz noted that globalization brings affluence and prosperity, and that Germany-China cooperation delivers fruitful results. He underscored the value of candid communication between the two sides and called for efforts to preserve such partnership.

Germany is ready to work with China to strengthen equal-footed and mutually beneficial cooperation and create a fair market environment for their entrepreneurs to do business in each other's countries, so as to deliver benefits to both sides, Scholz said.

Wang Yi and He Lifeng were present at the event, which was attended by nearly 30 business executives from the two sides.