Questions were not allowed after the press statements by the chancellor and the prime minister.
(Photo: IMAGO/Christian Spicker)
Berlin Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed his satisfaction with the German-Chinese intergovernmental consultations and emphasized the importance of joint action against climate change. “Let’s continue the dialogue so that we can understand each other well and meet global challenges together,” said Scholz alongside Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang on Tuesday in Berlin.
Such a meeting is “even more important than usual in these extraordinary times full of global challenges and crises, it contributes to a better understanding for each other”.
Scholz emphasized that the federal government is committed to further developing economic cooperation with China. “We have no interest in economic decoupling from China,” he said. Access to the Chinese market and fair competitive conditions for Germany and other foreign companies remain a challenge for which concrete improvements are being urged, added Scholz.
The Chancellor also stressed the importance of human rights in the manufacture of products and in the supply chain. Consumers around the world would pay ever more careful attention to how products were made. “Decent production conditions and the associated improvements in the human rights situation are in both of our interests.” Questions were not allowed after the statements of both politicians due to demands from the Chinese side.
After a meeting with Chancellor Olaf Scholz, China’s Prime Minister Li Qiang also spoke out in favor of expanding Sino-German relations. As influential powers, China and Germany should work more closely together, he is quoted as saying in the Chinese media. China is ready to work with Germany “to take German-Chinese relations to a new level,” it said.
In Berlin, several ministers from the two countries are advising.
(Photo: IMAGO/Frank Ossenbrink)
For the federal government, it is “a particular concern” that Germany and China work closely together in the fight against climate change, said Scholz. Both countries are among the largest emitters of greenhouse gases and therefore bear a particularly large responsibility in the fight against global warming. “We will face up to this responsibility together,” emphasized the Chancellor.
“Every tonne of CO2 that we save contributes to reducing global warming.” Among other things, both countries agreed to start a climate and transformation dialogue.
Berlin and Beijing plan climate dialogue
The aim is to make industrial processes more climate-friendly, to accelerate the energy transition and to promote the switch to climate-friendly mobility. The German side also reported on experiences with the coal phase-out.
Scholz announced that a German-Chinese environmental forum at ministerial level is planned for November. A declaration of intent on electric and hydrogen mobility was also signed on Monday in order to continue a collaboration that had started.
More: “China is the greatest threat”: the intelligence agency warns against espionage more clearly than ever