China, Germany ‘agree to uphold global multilateral order’ in Berlin talks
- They also ‘oppose behaviour that will damage the current order with abusive sanctions’, according to foreign ministry
- US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, meanwhile, met his German counterpart Heiko Maas, trying to persuade the country to shut out Huawei
Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said the two sides had “reached an agreement that in facing a complicated and ever-changing international environment, both China and Germany should jointly uphold multilateralism, maintain the current international order and oppose behaviour that will damage the current order with abusive sanctions”.
“Both countries are firm supporters, defenders and promoters of multilateralism,” Geng said during a regular press briefing in Beijing.
The comments followed Vice-President Wang Qishan’s visit to Berlin on Friday, when he met Germany’s chancellor as well as its president and foreign minister.
Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday also called on France to safeguard the global multilateral trading system and oppose unilateralism and protectionism during a call with Clément Beaune, a foreign affairs adviser to French President Emmanuel Macron, the foreign ministry said.
“We share certain concerns with regard to China,” Maas was quoted as saying.
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But Maas also said Germany had “high security standards”, which all companies hoping to bid to build the new high-speed internet network would have to meet, German broadcaster Deutsche Welle reported.
During his meeting with Chancellor Angela Merkel, Wang Qishan asked the German leader to work together with China to build a more just and reasonable global governance system and in dealing with an uncertain future, according to official Chinese news agency Xinhua.
“Facing the profound and complex changes in the international situation, China always insists on doing its own share firstly, staying calm and clear-headed, showing composure, shouldering responsibility and reacting rationally,” Wang was quoted as saying.
“It is our firm belief that China should adopt a long-term view with Germany that will take into account the strategic value of such a relationship. [China] firmly supports a unified Europe and sees Europe as a trustworthy partner China can have a sustainable and predictable dialogue with, on equal footing,” Wang said.
Merkel replied that Germany and China shared a broad consensus, according to Xinhua.
“[Merkel] noted that Germany advocates strengthened international coordination and collaboration through dialogue and disagrees with … threats and exerting pressure to solve problems,” the report said.
The chancellor’s remarks echoed what she said a day earlier at Harvard University when, without naming US President Donald Trump, Merkel urged students to reject protectionism and “tear down walls of ignorance” that feed nationalism and isolationism.
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“Protectionism and trade conflicts jeopardise free international trade and therefore the very foundations of our prosperity,” she said.
The vice-president’s trip to Germany came after he visited Pakistan and the Netherlands – part of a diplomatic flurry by Chinese leaders amid rising tensions between Beijing and Washington over trade, technology and national security.
President Xi Jinping will start a three-day visit to Russia on Wednesday, where he will meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and attend the St Petersburg International Economic Forum, according to China’s foreign ministry.
Wang Yiwei, a professor of international relations at Renmin University in Beijing, said the Chinese vice-president’s visit was aimed at seeking Germany’s support to counter the US, as Berlin was also “facing increasing pressure from Trump’s policies”.
Trump has repeatedly called for the European power to increase its military spending and threatened to impose tariffs on German cars.
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“Germany is also worried that a continuing [US-China] trade war will have a negative impact on its economy,” Wang Yiwei said.
He added that Pompeo “obviously wants to get countries like Germany to back the US” ahead of the Group of 20 leaders’ summit to be held in Osaka, Japan, on June 28-29.
