Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz toured China’s Chongqing and Shanghai on April 14 and 15, along with a delegation from the German business community, with a focus upon the automotive industry. Xinhua reported that he was particularly impressed by the close and sound cooperation between German and Chinese businesses. Cooperation with China may represent Germany’s last hope to avoid an implosion of the industrial base and economy.
In today’s meeting with China’s President Xi Jinping, according to Xinhua, Xi noted that “the industrial and supply chains of China and Germany are deeply intertwined, and that the markets of the two countries are highly interdependent. Mutually beneficial cooperation between China and Germany is not a ‘risk,’ but the guarantee for a stable bilateral relationship and an opportunity for the future.” Xi referred to the two countries as particularly being built on industries and went through some of the “huge potential to be tapped.” He added that a “multipolar world is, in essence, one where countries with different civilizations, systems and paths respect each other and coexist in peace.”
The two leaders had an “in-depth exchange of views on the Ukraine crisis, noting that both China and Germany stand committed to the purposes and principles of the U.N. Charter, oppose the use of nuclear weapons or attack on peaceful nuclear facilities, and call for efforts to properly address the issue of global food security and observe the international humanitarian law.”
“President Xi underscored that under the current circumstances, all parties should commit to an early restoration of peace to prevent the conflict from escalating and even spiraling out of control. To this end, a number of principles should be followed: first, focusing on the overall interest of peace and stability rather than seeking selfish gains; second, cooling down the situation rather than adding fuel to the fire; third, accumulating conditions for restoring peace rather than further aggravating tensions; and fourth, reducing the negative impact on the world economy rather than undermining the stability of global industrial and supply chains.
“China supports the holding in due course of an international peace conference that is recognized by both Russia and Ukraine and ensures the equal participation of all parties and fair discussions on all peace plans. China will maintain close communication with all parties concerned, including Germany, on this matter.
On the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Xinhua reported that the “two sides shared the view that it is important to implement UNSC Resolution 2728, prevent escalation and further deterioration of the situation, ensure unhindered and sustained humanitarian access to Gaza, support the early settlement of the Palestinian question through negotiations on the basis of the two-State solution, and call on countries with influence to play a constructive role in maintaining regional peace and stability, with a view to achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting solution to the question of Palestine at an early date.”
