Germany and China, despite the financial crisis, wish to strengthen economic relations, it was announced after the meeting between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on Thursday in Berlin.
"We have agreed to strengthen friendly and strategic relations and deepen economic ties," Merkel said after her meeting with her Chinese counterpart. Wen emphasized that the friendly relations between Germany and China will help overcome the difficulties brought about by the economic crisis.
"The friendly relations between our two countries are becoming increasingly important for solving international problems," Wen said after the meeting with Merkel, announcing that Germany and China will jointly "hand in hand" overcome the current financial and economic crisis. The Chinese Premier also announced that today’s visit has resolved the disagreements between Berlin and Beijing that arose after the visit of Tibetan leader Dalai Lama to Berlin in 2007.
"After a cold winter, we can proudly look at our current relations," Wen said. Despite this, the German Chancellor invited her Chinese counterpart to continue the dialogue with Tibetan representatives.
"Germany is keen for talks to continue between the Chinese leadership and the Tibetan representative Dalai Lama," Merkel said. In this context, she offered Germany’s assistance in reviving that process.
The German and Chinese delegations signed several economic agreements in the morning, including the sale of Transrapid magnetic train technology, the construction of a Daimler truck factory in China, and the building of a construction machinery factory by the Chinese company Sany near Cologne. Throughout the day, several intergovernmental agreements in the fields of culture and political cooperation were also signed, as well as a joint agreement on climate protection. (Hina)
