No major economic agreements were signed during the two-day visit to Germany of Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang—only several on cooperation in climate protection. One may add, nonetheless, the June 19 sealing of the Cosco-Hamburg Sea Port deal, on the eve of Li’s arrival in Berlin. Bigger deals had been signed when Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited Beijing at the beginning of November 2022.
Li Qiang used his statement, at the 17-minute press conference with Scholz on June 20, to say: “China has a huge market, a complete industrial system and abundant human resources,” adding that the economy, which suffered from the pandemic, is now doing well again. “China and Germany are influential, big countries, so we should cooperate all the more.”
The economic aspect was more visible during Li’s visit to Munich, where the Chinese Prime Minister toured the Siemens and BMW corporations. The Chinese themselves had requested this focus on high-tech cooperation with the two Munich-based companies. At the official reception there, Bavarian Minister President Markus Söder spoke out against decoupling the economies. That, he said, would be harmful to sectors such as the automotive and chemical industries. It is a matter of safeguarding jobs, he said.
