Chinese premier calls for upholding economic globalization, China-Germany win-win cooperation

BERLIN -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Monday called on the German business community to uphold economic globalization and China-Germany win-win cooperation.

Enterprises should be re-put in the driving seat in terms of risk prevention, and risk prevention and cooperation are not opposites, Li said while attending a seminar with representatives of the German business community.

He also cautioned against simply equating interdependence with insecurity.

Representatives of German companies including Siemens, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Schaeffler, BASF, Covestro, Wacker Chemie, Merck, SAP and Allianz attended the meeting.

As proposed by Li, the participants had open and candid discussions as well as in-depth exchanges on how to view the current international economic and political situation, China's economic development, prospects of future technological development, and the so-called "de-risking" and "cutting the degree of dependence" initiated by some countries.

After listening to the speeches of the representatives, Li said that face-to-face communication can deepen the understanding and trust between people.

In a world of turmoil and transformation, the more serious and complex the situation, the more necessary it is to think calmly and grasp certainty amid uncertainties, Li said.

He called for actively following the objective law and the underlying trend of the times, in particular the historical trend of economic globalization, the general trend of China's long-term economic development for the better, and the grand trend of win-win cooperation between China and Germany.

Confidence needs to be strengthened to overcome difficulties, Li said, calling for accelerating the recovery of the world economy through openness and cooperation.

Noting that it is understandable that all parties have their own security concerns, Li said that what is important is how to reasonably define and guard against risks.

If not handled properly and the risks are amplified, more and bigger problems will only be created, he said, adding that enterprises have the most direct and acute sense of risk and know how to avoid and respond to it.

Failure to cooperate is the biggest risk, and failure to develop is the biggest insecurity, he noted.

With economic globalization, the world economy has become interconnected, which entails a dialectical view of dependence, Li said.

That means refraining from exaggerating the degree of dependence or even simply equating interdependence with insecurity, he added.

As for some specific problems, Li urged all parties to analyze them case by case, and jointly prevent and respond to them through consultation and cooperation.

Li expressed his hope that entrepreneurs from both countries could follow the trend and continue to pursue openness, inclusiveness and win-win cooperation, and maintain the stability of industrial and supply chains through high-quality and high-level practical cooperation.

Li called for seizing the opportunities and making prompt actions to push for more outcomes in cooperation in such emerging areas as innovation and green and low-carbon development, making the pie of the two countries' converging interests even bigger.

He also expected them to continue to serve as the envoy of the China-Germany friendship, and make greater contributions to the well-being of their people, the development of bilateral ties, and the friendly cooperation between China and Europe.

Noting that Germany and China are close partners of cooperation, German business representatives said that great success has been achieved with the deepening of the economic and trade cooperation between the two countries.

To eliminate risks, it is necessary to strengthen international cooperation, and decoupling will not work, they said.

The German business community is optimistic about China's economic outlook and has every confidence in China, they added.

Expressing their belief that China will adhere to opening up, they said that they are ready to continue to increase investment in China and deeply exploit the Chinese market.

They also noted that they are willing to further deepen Germany-China cooperation in coping with climate change, strengthening research and development capabilities, and advancing digital transformation, so as to achieve manufacturing in China, research and development with China, and win-win with China.