Prospects for China-Germany relations appear brighter than ever
after the two countries reached consensus on a wide-range of issues
and signed 19 agreements during German Chancellor Angela Merkel's
two-day visit to China which ended Tuesday afternoon.
On that afternoon the Chancellor rode the world's only
commercially operating magnetic levitation rail line to the Pudong
International Airport in Shanghai where she boarded her flight back
to Germany.
During her meeting with Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng, Merkel reiterated her government's
commitment to boosting economic and trade cooperation with
China.
Analysts believe Merkel's remarks are a strong indicator that
China-Germany relations will be a high priority during her
term.
Merkel came to office as the leader of a coalition government
that was formed after last November's election. Her predecessor,
Gerhard Schroeder, visited China six times in his seven years in
office.
Merkel's visit received positive praise in China, which is
Germany's largest trading partner in the EU and major supporter of
enlarging Germany's role at the United Nations.
Merkel started her first trip to China as Chancellor -- she had
visited here once before as a government minister -- on a relaxed
note as she chatted with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao during a walk in a park on Monday
morning.
Later Merkel and Wen, agreed to start their first round of
strategic dialogue this year, as a way of improving political
consultations.
"The enhancement of China-Germany ties is an established policy
of the Chinese government and serves the common interests of the
two countries," Wen told Merkel.
The two leaders discussed issues such as political dialogue,
economic cooperation, cultural exchanges, energy cooperation, human
rights and the Iranian nuclear issue, reaching broad consensus,
source with Chinese Foreign Ministry said.
The talks were followed by a signing ceremony of 19 documents on
bilateral cooperation, mainly covering such fields as railway
technology, financial cooperation, high technology,
telecommunications, energy, culture and sports.
However, the wide-expected bilateral collaboration on maglev
railways failed to yield a new contract due to the "need for a
feasibility study".
Wen told a news conference after the signing ceremony that his
government remains "positive" about continuing to cooperate with
Germany on maglev railway development.
"Considering the huge investment, thorough research should be
done in order to make a scientific decision," Wen said. "But I can
be quite clear that China has a positive attitude toward
cooperation with Germany."
Responding to Wen's view, Merkel said that the maglev railway
has market advantages as it can travel at 400 kilometers an
hour.
"(The railway) will successfully attract passengers who are
willing to spend money on it", Merkel said during her ride on the
train.
In her meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao on Monday, Merkel said Germany and
China share broad common interests and could establish cooperation
in many fields.
Merkel also expressed the hope that the two nations could cement
cooperation in fields like energy security and energy efficiency
and strengthen communication and collaboration on various
international issues in multilateral organizations especially in
the UN.
"I think Chancellor Merkel's visit will help the two sides
better understand each other and further strengthen bilateral
coordination and cooperation on many international issues", said
former Chinese ambassador to Germany, Lu Qiutian, in an interview
with Xinhua.
"Bilateral relations will continue to grow although there are
still issues relating to intellectual property protection and human
rights that need further consultations", Lu said.
Merkel arrived here on Sunday night at the invitation of Premier
Wen.
She advanced a scheduled visit to China from July to the late
May "to show how important Germany-China ties are", a news official
with the German embassy to China told Xinhua.
(Xinhua News Agency May 24, 2006)
?
