On the morning of April 16, President Xi Jinping met with German Chancellor Gertz at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Xie Huanchi

On the morning of April 16, President Xi Jinping met with German Chancellor Gertz at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing.

Xi Jinping pointed out that this year marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the all-round strategic partnership between China and Germany. Over the past 10 years, despite great changes in the international situation, Sino-German relations have always developed steadily, and cooperation in various fields has been continuously consolidated and deepened, providing impetus for the respective development of the two countries. At present, the world's century-old changes are accelerating and the risks and challenges facing human society are increasing. To solve these problems, cooperation between major powers is indispensable. China and Germany are the second and third largest economies in the world. The significance of consolidating and developing Sino-German relations goes beyond bilateral relations and has an important impact on the Eurasian continent and the world as a whole. The two countries should view and develop bilateral relations from a long-term and strategic perspective, and work together to inject more stability and certainty into the world.

Xi Jinping stressed that both China and Germany have made significant contributions to the progress of human civilization. There is no fundamental conflict of interest between China and Germany, and they do not pose a security threat to each other. Sino-German cooperation is beneficial to both sides and to the world. The more turbulent the world is, the more the two sides must enhance the resilience and vitality of bilateral relations, adhere to the main tone of cooperation and the general direction of development of Sino-German relations, and firmly grasp the position that China and Germany are all-round strategic partners. China's policy towards Germany maintains a high degree of stability and coherence. The two sides should continue to maintain close exchanges with an open mind and enhance strategic mutual trust. As long as the two sides adhere to mutual respect, seeking common ground while reserving differences, exchanges and mutual learning, and win-win cooperation, the relations between the two countries will continue to be stable and far-reaching.

Xi Jinping pointed out that the supply chain of the Sino-German industrial chain is deeply embedded in each other, and the markets of the two countries are highly dependent. The mutually beneficial cooperation between China and Germany is not a "risk", but a guarantee for the stability of bilateral relations and an opportunity for the future. Whether it is traditional fields such as machinery manufacturing and automobiles, or emerging fields such as green transformation, digitalization, and artificial intelligence, the two countries have huge potential for win-win cooperation that needs to be tapped. The two sides should carry forward the distinctive characteristics of mutual benefit and win-win results and achieve each other. China's exports of electric vehicles, lithium batteries and photovoltaic products have not only enriched global supply and eased global inflationary pressures, but also made great contributions to the global response to climate change and green and low-carbon transformation. Both China and Germany are based on industry and support free trade and economic globalization. The two sides should be alert to the rise of protectionism, adhere to a market and global perspective, proceed from economic laws, treat production capacity issues objectively and dialectically, and discuss more cooperation. China adheres to the basic national policy of opening up to the outside world and hopes that Germany will provide a fair, transparent, open and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese enterprises to develop in Germany. China and Germany have a lot in common on the issue of world multipolarization. In essence, multipolarization should be mutual respect and peaceful coexistence between countries with different civilizations, systems and paths. China and Germany should independently carry out multilateral cooperation, promote the international community to better respond to global challenges such as climate change, unbalanced development, and regional conflicts with practical actions, and make more contributions to the balance and stability of the world.

On the morning of April 16, President Xi Jinping met with German Chancellor Gertz at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Ding Haitao

Scholz said that at present, Germany-China relations are developing well, and the two sides have close exchanges at all levels and in various fields. The two sides successfully held consultations between the two governments and high-level dialogues in the fields of strategy and finance, and will also hold dialogues on climate change and green transformation. In the past two days, representatives of the German business community and I have visited Chongqing, Shanghai and other places. We have personally experienced the great achievements of China's economic development in recent years, and we are deeply impressed by the close and good cooperation between the German and Chinese business communities. Germany is willing to continue to strengthen bilateral relations with China, deepen bilateral dialogue and cooperation in various fields, and promote people to people exchanges in education, culture and other fields, which are of vital importance to Germany, China and the world. Germany is willing to strengthen communication and coordination with China to jointly address global challenges such as climate change, and is committed to safeguarding the multilateral international order and promoting world peace and development, and does not agree with confrontation. Germany opposes protectionism and supports free trade. As an important member of the EU, Germany is willing to play an active role in promoting the sound development of EU-China relations.

The leaders of the two countries also had an in-depth exchange of views on the Ukrainian crisis, saying that China and Germany are committed to abiding by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, opposing the use of nuclear weapons or attacks on peaceful nuclear facilities, properly resolving international food security issues and abiding by international humanitarian law.

Xi Jinping emphasized that under the current situation, in order to prevent the conflict from spiraling or even getting out of control, all parties should work together to restore peace at an early date. To this end, we should grasp the following principles: first, we should give priority to the overall situation of peace and stability, and do not seek self-interest. Second, we should cool down the situation and not pour fuel on it. Third, we must accumulate conditions for the restoration of peace and refrain from further intensifying contradictions. Fourth, we should reduce the negative impact on the world economy and not undermine the stability of the global industrial chain and supply chain. China is not a party or participant in the Ukrainian crisis, but it has been promoting peace and talks in its own way. China encourages and supports all efforts conducive to the peaceful settlement of the crisis, supports the timely convening of an international peace conference recognized by Russia and Ukraine, with equal participation of all parties and fair discussion of all peace plans. China is willing to maintain close communication with relevant parties, including Germany, in this regard.

The two sides also exchanged views on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and other international and regional issues of common concern. Both sides believe that UN Security Council Resolution 2728 should be implemented to prevent the expansion of the situation, avoid further deterioration of the situation, ensure barrier-free and sustainable humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip, and support the early adoption of negotiations on the basis of the "two-state solution". Resolve, call on influential countries to play a constructive role in maintaining regional peace and stability, and promote an early, just and lasting solution to the Palestinian issue.

On the morning of April 16, President Xi Jinping met with German Chancellor Gertz at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing. This is Xi Jinping walking with Scholz. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Ding Haitao

After the meeting, Xi Jinping took a walk and had lunch with Scholz to further in-depth exchanges on a wide range of topics.

On the morning of April 16, President Xi Jinping met with German Chancellor Gertz at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing. This is a photo of Xi Jinping and Schultz. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Xie Huanchi

Wang Yi attended the meeting.