As Xi met German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday in Berlin, the two leaders agreed to write a better story, setting new targets and mapping out new paths for the future development of their countries’ comprehensive strategic partnership.

China and Germany lifted their relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership during Xi’s first state visit to Germany in 2014.

Xi told Merkel during their talks that China is ready to join Germany in consolidating mutual trust, building up more consensus and promoting bilateral cooperation and connectivity, so as to ensure a constant development of the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries.

The Chinese president urged the two sides to intensify high-level exchanges, bring bilateral mechanisms to full play, and enhance political mutual trust.

The two sides should also attend to each other’s core interests and major concerns, seek common grounds while reserving differences, and properly handle their disputes on the basis of mutual respect and equality, he said, calling for closer cooperation in such areas as combating terrorism and cross-border crimes and hunting fugitive corrupt officials.Meanwhile, he suggested that the two countries follow an open, innovative and win-win path, conduct strategic cooperation and jointly promote their common interests.

The two sides, he said, should support their firms in synergizing “Made in China 2025” and Germany’s “Industry 4.0,” so as to unleash the potential for innovation when the two nations’ manufacturing strengths are combined with the Internet.

Xi also urged the two sides to give full play to the newly launched High-Level People-to-People Exchange Dialogue Mechanism so as to deepen their cooperation in such areas as education, science and technology, culture, political parties, think tanks and media.

Merkel agreed that Germany’s cooperation with China in politics, economy, and cultural and people-to-people exchanges accords with the interests of both sides, and boasts even greater potential.She said that the German government is willing to work with China to step up cooperation in economy, trade and connectivity under the Belt and Road Initiative.

“Currently, the world is undergoing profound changes and major adjustments, and has turned increasingly volatile,” the Chinese president said while meeting Merkel.China is the world’s second largest economy and Germany is the fourth, and they are also two stabilizing forces with major influence in Asia and Europe, Xi said.

A stronger China-Germany comprehensive strategic partnership serves both sides’ fundamental interests, and can help promote the development of China-European Union (EU) relations and add more stability and predictability to the world, he added.

Xi also proposed that Beijing and Berlin step up coordination and cooperation at the China-EU level, s well as within international bodies and multilateral frameworks such as the United Nations (UN) and the Group of 20 (G20).

He urged the two countries to maintain communication over hotspot issues concerning international and regional security so as to preserve world peace and stability, promote healthy world economic development, and contribute to building a community of shared future for mankind.  RSS