Germany and China set aside differences to stress importance of cooperation in uncertain economic climate
- Despite increasing concerns ranging from market access to Huawei, the two sides emphasised the value of working together to support multilateralism
- Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He tells business event both sides must work to support global free trade
Chinese and German ministers talked up the importance of cooperation at an economic forum on Friday despite the increasing strains between the two sides.
Demands from German businesses for a tougher stance towards Beijing and increasing concern about the Chinese telecoms giant Huawei Technologies have been a growing source of tension, but Friday’s meeting of senior bankers and policymakers saw the two sides signing agreements to strengthen cooperation amid a growing climate of economic uncertainty.
Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He, a key economic adviser to President Xi Jinping, stressed the importance of cooperation between the two countries at the event.
“Both sides promise to protect multilateralism and the principles of free trade, and resolutely support the rules-based, WTO-centred multilateral trade system,” Liu said.
“Today, there have been some signs of a slowdown in the world economy, market volatility has increased, and there is a rise in various kinds of uncertainty.