Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji said China and Germany will make concerted efforts to further strengthen their bilateral friendship and cooperation in various fields.
Zhu made the remark in Beijing Sunday in talks with visiting German Federal Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder who arrived in Beijing earlier Sunday on a three-day working visit to China as Zhu's guest.
Zhu said Sino-German ties have made remarkable progress in various fields in recent years and the relationship is the best it has been.
Noting that Germany is China's biggest partner in Europe in terms of trade and technological cooperation, Zhu said bilateral trade this year is expected to hit a new high.
He also pointed to Germany's increasing investment in China, in many huge projects in particular, citing the successful construction of the maglev railway in China's business hub Shanghai as a milestone in the history of bilateral economic and trade relations.
The two countries have also strengthened exchanges and cooperation in culture, science, technology and law, and their bilateral ties have been continuously enriched, Zhu said.
China and Germany share identical or similar views and more and more common interests on major international issues such as safeguarding world peace and promoting universal development.
He said the two countries have worked well together in the United Nations and other international organizations, voicing China's satisfaction with the progress of bilateral cooperation and expectations of their cooperative prospects.
Schroeder, who is on his fourth visit to China, said bilateral ties are very good in various fields and firmly based. The maglev project is an important example of productive bilateral economic and technological cooperation.
He said Germany hopes bilateral ties will continue to advance at a high level, and hopes to boost cooperation in such fields as tourism, culture and personnel exchanges, as well as their consultation and cooperation within the UN Security Council.
He reiterated Germany's one-China policy, and Zhu expressed his appreciation.
Zhu and Schroeder also discussed issues concerning Iraq, the Korean Peninsula and Afghanistan during their talks.
(Xinhua News Agency December 30, 2002)
|
