China has no ‘fundamental’ conflict of interest with Germany, Xi Jinping tells Olaf Scholz
- Chinese leader tells the German chancellor that neither side poses a security threat to the other and they should continue to strengthen their economic ties
- Scholz’s visit comes amid growing concern in Europe about economic ties with Beijing, which have prompted the bloc to launch a ‘de-risking’ strategy
“The industrial and supply chains of China and Germany are deeply embedded, and the markets of the two countries are highly interdependent. Mutually beneficial cooperation between China and Germany is not a ‘risk’, but a guarantee of the stability of bilateral relations and an opportunity to create a future,” Xi said, according to a statement from the Chinese foreign ministry.
He also said both sides should be “wary of the rise of protectionism and insist on looking at production capacity issues objectively and dialectically proceeding from economic laws and from a market and global perspective”.
Xi added China-German relations “transcend the scope of bilateral relations” and have an “important impact” on the world, and the two countries should develop relations with a “long-term and strategic” perspective.
“There is no fundamental conflict of interest between China and Germany and they do not pose a security threat to each other … As long as both sides adhere to mutual respect, seek common ground while reserving differences, communicate and learn from each other, and achieve win-win cooperation, relations between the two countries will continue to develop steadily.”